Duplicitous
by debater-girl1814
Summary: What if Lilly never died? What is she turned up pregnant, and Veronica was forced to investigate the identity of the father? Veronica must do just this, as well as hide her growing love for a certain Echolls boy from Lilly's brother! Please R
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: **_**Surprises**_

"Hey, Ronnie. I've got something _really_ important to tell you. If you could call me back when you get the chance…that'd be great. Talk to you then." Lilly's message echoed throughout Veronica and her father's apartment. Veronica sighed, opting to wait to call back her best friend. Veronica had something important of her own to share, and she was positive Lilly wouldn't like it.

After finishing her homework and listening to a c.d. for about an hour, Veronica finally sucked it up and made the phone call.

"Hey Lills. What's up?" Veronica asked, trying her best to sound as though she was excited about this conversation. It was more difficult than she'd anticipated to speak to Lilly normally.

"Well, here goes…actually, you know what…can you come over? I think we need to have a face-to-face conversation." Lilly suggested. Veronica's heart froze. Did she already know? Was everything about to blow up in Veronica's face?

"Um…yeah. Sure. Be there in 15." Veronica hung up quickly, and took several deep breaths. She walked slowly to the door, just in time to answer the door. She swung it open, and there stood a young black man, grinning like the cat who caught the canary. His face fell abruptly when he saw Veronica.

"Hi. I'm Wallace Fennel. I was looking for Marcus…is he here?" Wallace asked. Veronica crossed her arms, an annoyed expression crossing her face.

"No. No one by that name lives here. I think you, clearly, have the wrong address. If you'll excuse me, I was leaving." Veronica replied icily. Wallace stepped back, surprised by her reaction.

"Look, I'm sorry. It was a mistake. My cousin gave me this guy's address, said he'd be there, he obviously messed up. Don't have an aneurism." Wallace scoffed. Veronica shot him a look. She studied him for a few seconds, before deciding it was kind of funny. Her laughter warmed him up, and he smiled at her.

"Wallace. In case you forgot." He stuck out his hand, and she grabbed it.

"I'm Veronica. Veronica Mars." She replied. Wallace's face lit up in recognition.

"Sheriff Mars's daughter. I heard she was around my age." Veronica's face fell slightly, before returning to it's cheerful smile.

"That's me. I'm a good friend to have. All the underage drinking you can handle." Wallace chuckled, and proceeded to walk Veronica to the steps.

"It was nice to meet you, Veronica." He proclaimed.

"As it was you, Wallace. I'll see you around." Veronica smiled. Once Wallace was gone though, all her fears returned. She sighed, climbing into the driver's seat and speeding off toward Lilly's house.

Lilly answered the door with a smile. She hugged Veronica quickly, before ushering her towards her room.

"What could possibly be so important Lilly?" Veronica remarked, as Lilly bolted the door.

"I just can't have my parents walking in. They'd have my goddamned head, Veronica." Lilly explained. Veronica's fake smile was gone in an instant, and worry clouded her mind. So Lilly didn't know. What else could be so urgent?

"I'm pregnant Veronica." Lilly blurted out, heading off any awkward small talk or jokes.

"Lilly…you're WHAT?!" Veronica cried, leaping off Lilly's bed. Her mind was everywhere…the father…how…options…Lilly's parents…Duncan.

"I know, I know. And there's something else." Lilly began, and stopped abruptly. A long banging was coming from the other side of the door.

"Lilly? Lilly honey, what's going on? I heard a scream…" Celeste Kane continued to knock until Lilly answered.

"It's fine Mom. Veronica just stubbed her toe. Didn't you Veronica?" Lilly shot Veronica a menacing look, making Veronica hold back her reply of denial.

"Oh. Well, be more careful Veronica." Celeste scolded. Veronica nodded and smiled obligingly, all the while thinking she should wipe that smirk off of Celeste's botoxed face with the news of her daughter's teenage pregnancy. Celeste smiled coldly, before exiting the room.

"Okay, Veronica. No more freak outs, or it'll be my dad or Duncan next." Lilly warned. Veronica could only manage a nod.

"I'm not sure about the father…because there are two possibilities. And one of them…well, one of them is gonna make you mad. Real mad." Lilly confessed. Veronica wondered who could possibly make her mad.

"By the way, I know you and Logan kissed. A lot. And I don't care, cause I'm breaking up with him anyways. And you two can kiss all you want, since I'm pregnant and everything." Lilly's face was serious, but her tone rang more excited or pleased at this turn of fate than serious. Veronica was so stunned at this simple admission that she stayed mute.

"Okay. So Logan isn't the father. But…Aaron could be." Lilly fell back on her bed, leaving Veronica to swallow this development on her own.

"Aaron…Aaron…_ECHOLLS?!"_ Veronica breathed. Logan's _father?_ Holy crap! That made Lilly sound like a real…a real…well, Veronica refused to say the word that had surrounded Lilly's name since 8th grade. But honestly!

"Yes, yes. He's so…I dunno. Just plain sexy, Veronica. I can't describe it." Lilly sighed, sounding as in love as Veronica did when talked about Logan. Veronica shuddered slightly. Aaron Echolls had always given her the creeps.

"How about the other…possibility?" Veronica pressed, an edge creeping into her voice. She wasn't sure how to process any of this, let alone what she was going to do about Logan.

"Eli Navarro. He's alright. He's pretty taken with me, and I like him well enough. I just hope he's not the father. He doesn't have the money to support a baby with me, or to help me get rid of it, if that's what I decide." Veronica was less taken aback at the proclamation. She'd been suspecting something was going on between these two, ever since she'd seen the Lilly tattoo on Weevil (his nickname)'s arm. He'd pretended it was his sister's name, but Veronica knew better. Lilly's conquests tended to become obsessed with Lilly, enough so to get a tattoo.

Lilly opened her mouth to continue, but her door shook, and she allowed her brother, Duncan, Veronica's current boyfriend, inside. Duncan planted a kiss on Veronica's mouth. Veronica shied away from him, but he didn't notice. Veronica would have to let him in sometime…later, she supposed. Later.

"You wanna stay for dinner, Ronnie? The Echolls are coming over. Could be fun." Duncan smiled, waiting for her response. Veronica's heart skipped a beat.

"Of course." Veronica smiled genuinely, thinking not of her All-American boyfriend that was holding her hand, but of the gorgeous bad boy who'd stolen her heart. Lilly's expression also grew excited, making it seem like she was pleased her boyfriend Logan was coming, when Veronica knew, she was pleased his _father_ was coming.

"Yeah. Sounds like a blast, eh, Ronnie?" Lilly giggled, leading the way towards the dining room. Veronica and Duncan followed obediently.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two:** _**Love & War**_

Lilly, Duncan, and Veronica sat at the table, waiting patiently for the Kane guests to arrive. Under normal circumstances, Keith Mars may have also been invited. But ever since Lianne's not-so-mysterious exit from Neptune, Keith had been less welcome at the Kane household. It was well known among all that Lianne and Jake Kane had been high-school sweethearts, and even more well-known that Lianne was an alcoholic, the roots of which could be traced back to the discovery that Veronica was in fact Keith's daughter, and not Jake's. Veronica, on the other hand, had taken the news in stride, and welcomed Lianne's disappearance, smiling even when sometimes she cried, she missed her mother so much.

_Ding-Dong!_ Lilly and Veronica leaped up from the table to go stand by the door. Duncan, gentleman that he was, pretended not to notice. Somewhere inside, he knew that Logan and Lilly had been done for a while, and in the wake of this development, Logan had fallen for someone else. He just kept wishing that it wasn't true, and therefore, he savored each touch from Veronica, and with each touch, convinced himself of a lie.

"Aaron! Lynn! So nice of you to stop by! We've missed seeing you!" Celeste cooed as the Aaron and Lynn entered the household. Veronica watched as Aaron scanned the room, and found Lilly standing by the door. Lilly winked coyly, and Veronica mentally gagged. She was about to gesture her disgust to Lilly, when the Echolls young and handsome son walked through the door. Suddenly, she forgot all about Lilly's affair with Aaron and the pregnancy that may or may not have resulted from their treachery.

"Well, hello Miss Mars. What a pleasant surprise." Logan drawled. Only Lynn Echolls noticed the dramatic change in her son's disposition when he found Veronica standing at the door, and she was smart enough to keep it to herself.

"It's nice to see you too Logan." Veronica blushed as he leaned down and pecked her on the cheek. Duncan turned slyly to face Aaron, shaking his hand.

"Oh, well, hi there Logan. By the way, we're over." Lilly blurted out. Logan rolled his eyes, before returning them to Veronica. Veronica's mouth fell open at Lilly's flippant attitude in front of both her parents and Logan's.

"Saw that one coming." Jake Kane's voice boomed. Everyone laughed, and it seemed that their 6-month relationship was nothing but a joke, a gag the two of them had agreed upon playing. Aaron stood near the door, shaking his head as though to say it's Logan loss, but his eyes examined Lilly Kane in a manner that made Veronica shudder.

"Shall we move to the dining room?" Celeste Kane gestured. Everyone marched into the dining room. Seating arrangements, turned out to be very interesting. Jake Kane took one end of the table, with Duncan at the other end. Celeste sat to Jake's left. Beside her was Aaron, and beside him was Lynn. To Duncan's left, Veronica sat. Logan had immediately grabbed the seat beside her, and Lilly sat, dismayed, across from her mother. Veronica read the look on her friend's face, and realized that Lilly had planned on sitting a tad bit closer to Aaron Echolls.

"Well, dinner is served!" Jake's booming laughter filled the dining room, and everyone couldn't help but join in.

Veronica couldn't help but fidget all through the dinner. Lilly kept shooting Aaron looks that ranged from "We need to talk" to flirtier and flirtier. To Aaron's credit, he held Lynn's hand throughout the dinner, and smiled at her multiple times. However, his true slime ball self couldn't help but rear it's ugly head, and he returned Lilly's gaze one time too many for Veronica's taste. Of course, no one else noticed. Lynn Echolls was so pleased her husband was paying any attention to her, an atom bomb could've dropped next door and she wouldn't have noticed. Jake and Celeste remained wrapped up in themselves, only surfacing from whispered arguments to ask their esteemed guests if they were enjoying themselves. And Logan and Duncan were engaging in a war of their very own.

Veronica jumped, smacking her knee against the table.

"Alright, babe?" Duncan asked, looking up from his plate.

"I'm fine Duncan. Don't worry about it." Veronica shot Logan a dirty look, and he merely chuckled. He had grabbed her knee from under the table, all the while holding a conversation with his mother about college applications.

"Something wrong, Ronnie?" Logan asked innocently, pretending to be oblivious to the reason behind her look.

"No Logan. I think a spider just brushed my leg though." Veronica shot back. Logan only laughed again, amused by his apparent effect on Veronica Mars.

Suddenly, Veronica felt someone grab her hand. She turned, and found that Duncan had grabbed it and moved it on top of the table. Celeste Kane eyed the entwined hands as though they were a poisonous snake that had just slithered onto her dinner table.

"Duncan…" Veronica whispered urgently. Duncan merely shrugged, pretending not to notice that Veronica glanced suspiciously at Logan when he took her hand. Logan was also staring at the hands venomously, although he seemed more likely to take off Duncan's hand and then claim Veronica's for his own.

"Dessert, anyone?" Jake Kane interrupted the war that was silently going on between the two teenage boys at the other end of the table. Duncan dropped Veronica's hand and she returned it to her lap.

"I'd like to Mr. Kane, but I need to get home." Veronica knew she had to get out of there, fast, before Logan and Duncan went Paris and Romeo on each other.

"Well, we'd love to stay." Aaron commented, and Lynn nodded enthusiastically. Lilly grinned widely, looking like the Cheshire Cat. If the Cheshire Cat was 16, blonde, and supermodel gorgeous, that is.

"You know, I wish I could, but I've got work to catch up on. Perhaps Miss Mars could give me a ride home?" Logan turned and Veronica was stuck. She couldn't say no without earning questions, but saying yes would raise it's own set of suspicions.

"Sounds fine, my boy. We'll be home later on." Aaron nodded his approval, and Logan leaped from his seat. In seconds, he had his hands on the back of Veronica's chair. Duncan had also stood, but Logan had beaten him to the chair by seconds. He sank back into his seat, smiling while his eyes shined with anger and a tiny bit of acceptance.

Logan brushed Veronica's arm on purpose while pulling out the chair, making Veronica jump. Goosebumps appeared all along her arm, leaving a trail of his touch. She walked past him defiantly, and sank down to kiss Duncan. Logan stared, and although no one but Lilly noticed, his hands clenched into fists.

"Well, goodbye Logan. Veronica." Celeste walked with them and opened the door for the two. Logan smiled his thanks, and Veronica graciously thanked her, before stomping stubbornly ahead of Logan. She climbed into her car and slammed the door behind her, earning a glare from Celeste before the Kane door closed.

"Something wrong?" Logan smirked as he climbed into Veronica's car.

"Could you be a bigger ass Logan? I haven't told Duncan yet and you know it!" Veronica hissed, pulling out of the driveway.

"Well, Lilly knows. She, thank God, broke up with me, in case you missed it. I'm a free man." His hand slipped past his own armrest and onto Veronica's arm. She shrugged it off.

"That's not the point. I care about Duncan, and I don't want to hurt him!" Veronica insisted. Logan's hand went for round two, this time only having to travel half the distance, as Veronica's met his halfway.

"I know, I know. You should dump him soon though. I'm getting antsy." Logan squeezed her hand, and warmth shot through Veronica.

"He is your best friend." Veronica reminded, and Logan brushed away the thought.

"Lilly was yours, and she took it well." Veronica bit back a response, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop herself from divulging the fact that Lilly had kept up two affairs during her and Logan's romance.

"You're right. And we're here." Veronica had been speeding heavily in her anger at Logan, and was now disappointed to be home.

"Thank you so much, Miss Veronica." Veronica turned to shoot a comeback at him, but his mouth met hers before the words had even fully formed in her head. She pulled away after a few moments, sighing contently. Logan laughed at the happiness in her smile and the pink in her cheeks, before turning and walking into his house. He stopped halfway and waved at her, and Veronica backed out of the driveway, nearly hitting the mailbox she was so busy staring at him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three: **_**The Big Reveal**_

"It's horrible Veronica. He just…shut me down. I'm so insulted!" Lilly wailed when she climbed into the front seat.

"Hey…Duncan was gonna…" Veronica began, but Lilly held up her hand in silence.

"You and Duncan are over. This seat has returned to _my_ possession." Lilly hissed. Veronica was so surprised at her tone that she let it slide. Duncan walked outside of the door and stared for a second at Lilly pouting in the front seat. His shoulders visibly sunk, and he climbed silently into the seat behind Lilly's.

"Am I picking up Logan too?" Veronica asked, pulling away from the house. Lilly refused to respond, still sulking about Aaron and his refusal to acknowledge Lilly's baby might be his.

"If you don't mind." Duncan replied from the back seat.

"It's no problem." Veronica responded. Lilly suddenly sat up ramrod straight, and her famous smirk appeared on her face. Veronica knew that look too well, and wondered what her friend had planned. Before she could comment on Lilly's sudden change in attitude, Lilly opened the passenger door.

"Lilly!" Duncan and Veronica screamed in unison as Veronica slammed down on the brakes. Veronica quickly pulled over so as not to block traffic.

"I feel carsick up here. I'm moving into the back." She announced. Veronica's mouth slid open, leaving her with a truly stunned expression. Duncan unbuckled his seatbelt like he planned to switch places with Lilly but his sister shook her long blonde hair at him.

"You need to stay there, brother. I refuse to sit back here with my ex-boyfriend." Lilly proclaimed, sliding into the seat behind Veronica's.

"Seriously Lilly, if you and Logan are gonna sulk at each other all day, I don't think I want to go to the beach with you guys." Duncan groaned, slouching back into his seat.

"Don't even worry about it, Duncan Donuts. I just don't want to sit by him, in case he tries any funny business." Lilly giggled, more at the childish nickname than at the idea of her ex-boyfriend flirting with her. Veronica glared at Lilly in the rearview mirror, not liking the idea of Logan hitting on Lilly. Lilly merely grinned in return. Duncan stared out the window, sulking even more than his sister had been earlier.

"Hey guys! Where am I supposed to sit?" Logan played dumb, acting like he expected Lilly or Duncan to climb into the middle seat to make room for him.

"C'mon Logan, don't make Ronnie a chauffer! Get in the front!" Lilly commanded. If it was possible, Logan's already goofy smile grew into an absolutely huge one, making Lilly smirk, Duncan sink lower into the seat, and Veronica smile just a little. He swung into the seat beside Veronica, his grin becoming infectious. Even Duncan cracked a tiny smile.

"So, what are we going to at the beach today, friends? Hardly surfing weather." Logan remarked. Duncan nodded in agreement, and Lilly shrugged. Veronica continued to drive in silence, pretending to be focused on the road. At one point, as though it was his mission to earn her attention, Logan deliberately brushed her hand when she reached for the radio, as though he too wanted some music and it was a coincidence he reached for the dial exactly as she did. Veronica has smiled inwardly, but refused to hurt Duncan by acknowledging the brush.

"We can still swim in the ocean, you know." Veronica reminded the boys. Duncan and Logan both nodded, and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"I don't like swimming Ronnie." Lilly reminded her friend.

"You don't like getting your hair wet, Miss Perfect." Logan chided. Lilly scowled at him in return, and he grinned.

"Do you have a swimsuit on Mars?" Logan asked innocently. Veronica glanced at him, and saw him staring at her clothes.

"Why is it your business, Echolls?" Veronica snapped back. Logan laughed out loud, and Duncan's eyebrows came closer together.

When they reached the beach, Duncan and Logan both held back to wait for Veronica to walk with them. They stared at each other, waiting to see who Veronica would acknowledge first.

"Looks like you've got yourself an entourage, Veronica." Lilly commented, waving at some boys throwing a Frisbee on the beach. They became so distracted, one actually threw the Frisbee into his friend's face. Lilly threw her head back and laughed at her power.

Veronica took Duncan's hand when he offered it, and Logan's face darkened just a little. To most, it was unnoticeable, but Veronica recognized it immediately. She wondered why Duncan didn't just accept defeat, and chalked it up to both male stupidity as well as the hatred for losing most boys had.

Lilly and Veronica busied themselves with laying out the towels while Logan and Duncan continued towards the water, under the guise of testing the temperature. In reality, they just didn't want to have to work at even the smallest task.

"When are you just gonna tell Duncan?" Lilly asked. Veronica turned to face her, and her normally strong expression faltered.

"I don't know. I keep hoping he'll just dump me." Veronica admitted, her focus on angling the umbrella perfectly.

"Well, you better step up soon before they challenge each other to a shootout at noon for your hand." Lilly removed her shirt, making about half the boys on the beach turn to stare. She was wearing a bikini underneath of course, but still. Veronica opted for a less showy change, quickly removing her sundress to reveal a black one-piece underneath.

"You know nothing about men, Veronica. How are you gonna keep either of them in a one-piece?" Lilly shook her head, not understanding her friend's shyness. Logan and Duncan returned before Veronica could answer the question.

"How's the water?" Lilly asked.

"Feels great." Duncan replied, laying down on the towel to the left of Veronica. Logan sat on the one to her right, leaving Veronica sandwiched between the two boys. Out of Veronica and Lilly's eyesight, Logan and Duncan signaled to each other.

"Aaah!" They screamed. Logan charged Veronica, while Duncan went towards Lilly less enthusiastically. Logan and Duncan picked both girls up with ease. Duncan swung Lilly up over his shoulder fireman style, while Logan opted for the thresh hold style for Veronica. Both girls shrieked, and Lilly kicked Duncan repeatedly. Veronica squirmed, but Logan's method was much harder to fight than Duncan's. They marched the girls ceremoniously towards the water.

"Duncan! Don't you dare! Don't you dare, I swear to God I will tell Dad! Or even worse, I'll tell Mo-" Lilly's threats were drowned out when Duncan dropped her into ocean without warning.

"Dammit Duncan! I'm gonna kill you!" Lilly spurted, resurfacing quickly. Her hair was drenched, and her mascara was beginning to run.

"Always wear waterproof to the beach Kane!" Logan called out. Lilly splashed water at him, and Veronica cringed.

Logan and Veronica were only at the edge of the ocean, as Duncan had walked much quicker to drop Lilly. As they entered deeper water, Veronica remained dry, thanks to Logan's tall physique. He continued to walk with her though, rather than drop her as Duncan had.

"Oh my god, this is cold!" Veronica called when one particularly big wave hit her thigh. Logan laughed, and slowly lowered Veronica into the water.

"Jesus!" Veronica managed, as her shoulders slipped below the surface. Standing much shorter than Logan, what had only reached his chest nearly covered her entire head.

"Here, I'll help you." Logan offered his two hands, and Veronica searched around for Duncan before accepting. He was splashing Lilly, consciously ignoring his best friend and girlfriend who were a few feet away from him. Veronica placed her hands on top of his, and he pushed her body up, supporting her tiny weight.

"Having fun?" Logan asked when Veronica finally got used to the water. She grinned, and splashed him.

"Oh, you're gonna pay for that one Mars!" Logan swore as Veronica kicked to get away quickly. He grabbed her leg though, and pulled her closer. Veronica splashed him again, and he pulled her under. Before she could kick back up, he planted a kiss on her lips underwater. She would've remained there for hours, had the need for air not taken priority. She burst from the water and took in a large breath. Logan was laughing, and Veronica was smiling widely, her lips pink from the kiss. She swam towards Logan again, before noticing Duncan on the beach, pretending to read a magazine. She saw the hurt cross his eyes, before the acceptance did. He nodded politely at her, and gestured towards Logan. Veronica then continued her swim, before noticing Lilly keeled over at the edge of the water.

"Lilly!" She cried out, changing her course. Duncan look towards his sister and burst up from his chair. Veronica and Duncan reached Lilly at the same time, Logan following Veronica closely behind.

"Lilly?! What's the matter?" Veronica asked. Lilly moaned in response, and lifted up her palm to reveal something sticky and red.

"Is that blood?" Logan flinched, as Lilly moaned one more time.

"So it's just her…you know…" Duncan gestured towards Lilly, signaling he thought it was women's troubles. But Veronica, who knew better, looked at Lilly.

"I'm losing it Ronnie. Losing it…" Lilly gasped, before passing out on the beach.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: **_**Trouble**_

"Can you just let us in?" Veronica pressed, asking the doctor for what seemed like the millionth time that day. The doctor looked down at her pitifully, and smiled gently.

"I can promise you your friend is fine." The doctor assured her. Logan and Duncan seemed comfortable with this tiny piece of information, but Veronica wanted more.

"What was wrong with her? Will the baby be alright? Did she lose it?" Veronica insisted. Duncan and Logan both winced when she mentioned Lilly's pregnancy.

"We're trying to find the cause of the bleeding. You got her here in time, and I believe the baby will live." The doctor looked down at his watch in that way, the one where they seem to be hinting at you that they have much more important things to do than answer your questions.

"Fine." Veronica sank into the seat beside Logan, defeated. He patted her hand gently, but something seemed to be distracting him. Duncan eyed the touch carefully, as though somehow this development changed what he'd witnessed on the beach.

"I'll let you know as soon as we find what made her start bleeding." The doctor reassured Veronica before walking away hurriedly. Veronica clicked her long nails on the side table, until Duncan shot her a look to cease.

"So, you which one of you two wants to call _Sixteen & Pregnant_?" Logan asked. Duncan laughed out loud, while Veronica smacked him on the shoulder.

"What? You know Lilly would love it!" Duncan told her, still laughing. Logan had seemed alright when he made the joke, but now was sinking back into his dejected attitude. Veronica looked at him, concerned.

"What's wrong, Logan?" Veronica asked, rubbing his shoulder. Logan turned to face her. Duncan, aware that this was a conversation he wanted to miss, stood up under the pretense of running to the snack bar for some coffee.

"Veronica, she knew she was pregnant when she dumped me. How could she have done that when she's having my baby?" Logan moaned softly. Veronica straightened, unsure of how to breech this topic. Logan didn't know he wasn't the father, and Veronica knew he needed to know that, but Lilly should tell him, not Veronica.

"Logan…there's something you should know." Veronica began. She wished immediately she hadn't started, but now it was too late. Logan looked her straight in the eye, egging her on.

"You…aren't the father. Lilly's sure." Veronica winced as the words fell between them. Logan sucked in a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

"She cheated on me?" Logan whispered. Veronica could only manage a nod. Logan let the air sit while he processed this. Finally, he began to nod.

"Yeah…yeah. Should've known. Couldn't be the father…haven't…of course. Well, who is it?" Logan asked Veronica. It was Veronica's turn to suck in a breath. She knew better than to tell Logan that Lilly's child may be his half-brother or sister, but she knew he was going to find out sooner or later. But no, Lilly was going to have to handle that little issue all on her own, without a go-between.

"It could be Eli Navarro." Veronica mentioned. Logan nodded, recognizing that Weevil had that Lilly tattoo, and had for a while. But Logan wasn't dumb, and Veronica's word choice dawned on him quickly.

"Could be?" Logan sneered. His tone had turned from acceptance to a combination of hurt and anger. Veronica shuddered at the change.

"There's…another possibility. But I really, really, really can't tell you Logan. That has to be Lilly." Veronica warned. Logan looked her directly in the eye. He kept it up for what seemed like hours, until he finally cracked a smile.

"Does best friend really trump boyfriend?" He asked. Veronica laughed, and he smiled warmly. Duncan returned, holding two cups of coffee and a brownie. Logan snagged the brownie, while Veronica took the second cup of coffee. Gentleman that he was, Logan generously shared his treat with Veronica.

"So, Dad, how's it feel?" Duncan asked. Veronica groaned, and Duncan immediately recognized his error in judgment.

"Wouldn't no. Haven't knocked anyone up recently." Logan responded cheerfully. Before Duncan could ask any clarifying questions, two men arrived at the same time. One was the doctor, and the other was none other than Eli Navarro. Logan tensed when Eli entered, but Veronica smiled and offered him the seat beside her.

"You guys know anything?" Eli asked, not bothering with hellos. Logan pretended not to hear him, while Duncan walked over to the doctor.

"We know the baby is all right." Veronica offered. Weevil's shoulders relaxed, and he smiled just a bit. Veronica was shocked to not see surprise on his face, and realized Lilly was more serious about Weevil than she'd been letting on. Logan grabbed Veronica's hand, and with each passing moment, squeezed it a little harder. Before anyone could say anything else, Duncan returned.

"We can see her. She's pretty wrecked though. Not hurt or anything, but someone isn't happy." Duncan warned.

"Why?" Logan and Eli asked at the same time. They shot each other looks before turning back to Duncan.

"I'll let her tell you. They found the source of the bleeding." Duncan explained. Veronica was up like a shot, and Logan was pulled to his feet by her, as they were still holding hands. Weevil stood up more slowly, and followed the three of them somewhat back.

"Hey Lilly. How are you?" Veronica asked sweetly, moving into the chair by Lilly's bedside. Logan sat down beside her. Duncan sat on the other side of them, and Weevil stood near Lilly's bed, hovering around her. Lilly's face lit up when she saw him, and she motioned for him to lie down beside her. It was awkward, especially for Logan, but Lilly always got what she wanted.

"Well. I'm not too bad. Glad the baby's okay." She squeezed Weevil's knee when she said it, and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. Veronica watched the exchange with wonder, happy her friend had found someone who cared about her so much, but also worried, as she knew Lilly, and knew Lilly would have to own up to the Aaron scandal eventually.

"So…the doctor mentioned he'd found the source of the bleeding." Duncan prompted. Lilly's face whitened a shade, and Weevil pulled her a little closer.

"Someone…tried to drug me. Tried to give me something to make me lose the baby." She whispered. Weevil's face turned purple, and he let out a roar of pent up rage. Veronica raced to Lilly's side, and Duncan and Logan were close behind her.

"Who would do that to me, Ronnie? Who?" She cried softly. Tears streamed down her face, and Veronica wiped them away.

"Well, Lilly. Think. Who wouldn't want you to have a baby?" Veronica asked. Lilly met her eye line, and Veronica knew they'd both thought of Aaron. Veronica motioned to Logan for a pen and paper.

"What are you doing?" Lilly sobbed, still crying.

"Making a list. Of suspects. I don't care if they knew or not. Just give me a list of people who wouldn't want you to have a baby. We'll narrow it down later." Veronica declared. Duncan and Logan exchanged a look, knowing they would make it on that list only to be crossed off (hopefully) at some other time.

"Okay…You-know-who" Lilly began. Logan raised his eyebrows in question, but Veronica waved him away.

"Logan…Duncan…" Lilly shot them both an apologetic glance. They shrugged, as if to say 'We know, don't mess with Veronica'.

"My mother…my father…Eli's gang…" She looked up at him. He nodded tersely, acknowledging that him having a kid would not be welcome news to the gang. If it was even his kid, and a gang wouldn't take time to wait and see who it looked like when it was born.

"You-know-who's…significant other." Lilly continued. Veronica looked up at her, shocked to hear the name, but also recognizing it was extremely possible.

"Anyone else?" Veronica prompted.

"Clarence Wiedman…if my dad wanted to get rid of it without getting his hands dirty, he'd ask Clarence." Lilly explained. Duncan nodded in agreement, and Veronica scribbled down the unfamiliar name. She looked to Lilly for more names, and Lilly started to shake her head, before coming up with one name.

"You-know-who's other kid. They wouldn't one any competition for the fortune. Or for you-know-who to be ruined." Lilly said. Veronica nodded, and Logan growled. Lilly and Veronica both looked at him.

"Just tell me who it is! I won't get mad, I promise! I've got Veronica now, it's all water under the bridge Lilly! Just clue me in, this is totally insane!" Logan yelled. A nurse barged in to check. She was waved away quickly by Lilly.

"Fine. It's Aaron. Your dad. Still sure you wouldn't care, even with your new girlfriend?" Lilly snarled defiantly. Logan roared, and stormed out of the room, Veronica in tow. Veronica's list floated down to the floor, and Duncan picked it up and handed it to Lilly.

It read:

1. Aaron Echolls (Prime Suspect, lover, doesn't want bastard child)

2. Logan Echolls (Ex-boyfriend, jealous)

3. Duncan Kane (brother, concerned about Lilly's status)

4. Celeste Kane (mother, reputation to worry about)

5. Jake Kane (father, anger and reputation)

6. PCHers (possible father's gang associates, keep status)

7. Lynn Echolls (lover's wife, competition)

8. Clarence Wiedman (father's associate, working for father)

9. Trina Echolls (lover's daughter, competition)


	5. Chapter 5

****author note**: **hi! i'm really glad everyone has been enjoying the story so much! it's my first veronica mars, and your positive feedback is so encouraging! i really wanted to apologize for the length of this chapter. my computer was sort of freaking out, but i wanted to get a chapter out today, so i wrote a short one, really more of a transition chapter to the action that i'm planning! thanks 3 (reviews are always appreciated :] )**

* * *

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**Chapter 5:**_** Consequences**_

"Logan! Logan, slow down!" Veronica pleaded. Her arm felt like it was about to fall off, it was so sore. Logan pretended not to hear her and continued to march off, trying to get as far away from Lilly as possible.

"Ow!" Veronica yelped, as Logan jerked her arm trying to avoid contact with Lilly's doctor. This admission of pain stopped him, as though he finally realized he was hurting Veronica. He stopped abruptly, and Veronica smacked into his back. He sank into a chair in the waiting room, and put his head in his hands. Veronica sat beside him, her hand still intertwined with his, unsure of what to do next. Should they talk about it, or would that make Logan more unstable?

"Logan? Do you want to…talk about it?" Veronica murmured, aware of the many people around them. It would be just her luck to have some 09er hear their conversation and spread around the rumor that Lilly Kane had been doing Aaron Echolls, a man clearly old enough to be her father. He was her boyfriend's father, after all.

"I just…how could she? How could he? What about my mom? Me?" Logan faltered. Veronica sighed, and squeezed his hand.

"Lilly didn't mean to hurt you. You know that. And your dad…your dad, I mean…" Veronica struggled to find a nice thing to say about Aaron Echolls, and failed. She lapsed into silence, and Logan smiled just a tiny bit.

"My dad's an ass?" Logan filled in. Veronica remained still, not wanting to have anything used against her later on.

"She's so stupid sometimes!" Logan suddenly exclaimed. Veronica jumped, shocked that this was his reaction. Lilly Kane may have been a lot of things, but she was never stupid. She played it sometimes, but it was in no way true. Lilly was too manipulative to ever be truly stupid, no matter what.

"Logan…" Veronica couldn't manage anything more.

"Don't you dare defend her Veronica. Don't you dare! What she did…it's unforgivable. Unforgivable! She screwed me, she screwed herself, hell, she even screwed her kid! Imagine if it is my father's! It'll be on the damn front page of the newspaper, won't it? Famed actor father love child with 16-year old! Lilly has turned her life into a walking circus act this time!" Logan ranted. Veronica looked around nervously, and tried to quiet him, but now that Logan had begun, it seemed unlikely he would stop.

Suddenly, he started to laugh. Veronica panicked, thinking he'd broken something in his brain. Maybe it was a panic attack, or a mental breakdown, she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that Logan had snapped. She stood to get a doctor's attention, but Logan pulled her back down.

"It'll be my half-brother or half-sister. My god! My ex-girlfriend is having my brother or sister!" Logan's laughter was dark, sinister even. It scared Veronica, scared her to her core.

"Logan! Just stop!" She begged. He met her eyes, and he did just that. The maniacal laughter ceased. They sat there, staring at each other, not moving or speaking. Before either of them broke the stare, Eli Navarro stomped past them.

"What do you think is his problem?" Veronica asked, following him with her eyes.

"Don't be stupid like Lilly, Ronnie. Lilly cheated on him just like she did me. With my father, for God's sake! If he wasn't 100%, he wouldn't be human." Logan explained, and the truth of the statement hit Veronica like a jackhammer.

"Let's get out of here." Veronica suggested.

"Lilly and Duncan won't be able to get home." Logan reminded her. Veronica shook her head.

"Duncan called Jake and Celeste at the beach. They'll be here any minute. And I'm sure we don't want to see _that_ little showdown." Veronica reminded him. Logan laughed humorlessly.

"Her parents had to know." Logan remarked, as they strolled out of the building. Veronica turned at looked at him, shocked.

"What do you mean?" Veronica asked.

"Well, Lilly told my dad at that dinner last night, didn't she? I bet my dad didn't take _that_ too well. He must've shouted up a storm. If Celeste, Jake, or my mom were anywhere within 100 feet of them, they all know." Logan mused. Veronica was shocked at the allegation.

"My suspect list…" Veronica remembered. She turned to go back to get it, but Logan stopped her. He nudged her shoulder and she followed his eye line to the black Kane car that had just pulled up.

"Oh, shit." Veronica swore, and dropped Logan's hand. He turned to her, confused, and she gestured towards the Kanes.

"They don't know I broke up with Duncan. This'd be just what I need right now. The story going around I'm a cheating hussy." Veronica hissed. Logan rolled his eyes, but continued to walk sans hand holding.

Jake and Celeste hurried past the two of them, barely acknowledging their existence. Celeste seemed to be holding back tears, and Jake's face was nearly purple with anger. Veronica whistled softly.

"Lilly's in for it now." She wondered how bad things would be for Lilly.

"Should we go back for Duncan?" Veronica asked. Veronica cared enough for Duncan to understand that it would be hard to listen to his sister getting yelled at for something as serious as this.

"No." Logan responded immediately. Veronica giggled at the fact that Logan still envied Duncan. It was ridiculous to think Duncan Kane could ever break them up, but Logan still seemed totally concerned.

"Where do you want to go?" Veronica asked once they had both climbed into the car.

"Let's go to my house. I don't think my parents are home yet." Logan offered. Veronica raised her eyebrows at the choice. She nodded, but started to pray to god that Aaron and Lynn Echolls weren't home, because if they were, there was going to be hell to pay, that was for sure.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6:**_** No Turning Back**_

Veronica turned into the Echolls driveway. She didn't see any of the family vehicles around besides Logan's Xterra. So far so good, she thought. Logan smiled goofily at her as she stepped out of the vehicle.

"Let's go on in." He gestured toward the front door, looking like Vanna White from _Wheel of Fortune_. Once inside, however, Veronica and Logan's luck abruptly ended.

"Hey honey, I'm in the living room! Come say hello!" Lynn Echolls called from the front room. Veronica's face turned pale, but Logan smiled, barely phased by this change in plan.

"Don't worry Ronnie. I'm sure it's just her. We can go swimming after we say hi, seeing as I know you're in a swimsuit." He winked, and Veronica stifled a giggle. They arrived at the front room, and Lynn looked up from her magazine, showing faint surprise at Veronica's presence.

"Oh, why hello, Veronica. I didn't know you'd be here." Lynn crooned. Veronica only smiled. She could tell already Lynn was going to be a much more pleasant mother-of-the-boyfriend than Celeste Kane. Lynn Echolls was so much like her son, it was hard for anyone who liked Logan to dislike Lynn.

"Well, mom, you've always liked surprises." Logan teased. Lynn let out a melodious laugh, and the tension Veronica had been feeling earlier evaporated instantly.

"Will you be surprising me around here often, Veronica?" Lynn hinted at the obvious connection between her son and his new sweetheart. Veronica blushed, giving Lynn the answer she craved.

"Why, you just reminded me, mom. Veronica is in fact my new girl." Logan boasted. Veronica's face turned redder than before, while Lynn beamed and Logan's face cracked into the widest smile.

Lynn was so excited for her son, she forgot to warn him Aaron was outside, swimming. She'd been waiting for months for Lilly and Logan to break up, as she knew their relationship wasn't healthy. It may have been hard to tell sometimes, but Lynn loved her son more than anything else in the world, and she hated when something hurt him. The only person who she allowed to hurt her child was Aaron, and even so, she often drank herself into a stupor after any beating Logan took.

So Logan and Veronica sauntered outside, having changed into their swimsuits, unaware of the fact that the man they both hated with a passion was already out there, acting as though Lilly Kane had never crossed his path.

"Son! How was the beach?" Aaron boomed. Veronica and Logan both stopped, unable to move any closer to the man who'd cheated Lilly. Logan's hands clenched into fists, and Veronica stepped slightly in front of Logan, as though she thought she could stop him from charging his own father.

"Veronica? Didn't expect to see you. Thought it'd be Lilly Kane." Aaron slurred. Veronica could tell immediately he'd been drinking. Logan grabbed Veronica's hand and held it tightly. Aaron raised his eyebrows at this new development.

"Lilly and I broke up." Logan hissed. Aaron missed the tone of his son's voice and laughed.

"Yeah, well. Didn't think she was serious. Lilly's never been too serious about anything." Aaron laughed. Logan pulled Veronica closer to him, trying to calm himself as much as possible.

"It's pretty obvious we were both serious." Logan replied. Aaron swung himself out of the pool and stepped toward the couple. Logan stepped slightly in front of Veronica, as Aaron stumbled, nearly crashing into the glass table that sat by the pool. Logan made no move to help him, only shifted himself and Veronica so that if the table had broken, they would've been out of harms way.

"I can see that. Already found someone else!" Aaron pointed to Veronica. Logan growled quietly, and Veronica put her hand on his shoulder in an attempt to calm him. Aaron eyed the move suspiciously.

"How serious are you two?" He asked, and Logan narrowed his eyes.

"Serious." Logan stated, in a clear closing of the subject. But Aaron was too drunk to pick up signals, and seemed determined to continue relationship talk with his only son.

"Well, be safe. Don't want any teen pregnancy." Aaron let out a laugh, and Logan lunged. Veronica tried to hold him back, but he was too strong for her. He overpowered her quickly, and tackled Aaron. They wrestling pair landed on a lawn chair, and it groaned under the sudden weight. Veronica moved toward them, intent on ending the fight before it went too far, but Logan gently pushed her back after punching Aaron square in the jaw. Logan seemed 100% aware of what he was doing, he had none of the wild look in his eyes that Aaron had.

Aaron was too confused and drunk to effectively fight back. Logan got in punch after punch while Aaron simply struggled to throw Logan off of him.

"Logan! Stop it!" Lynn Echolls had run outside to see what was going on, and she screamed Logan's name over and over in an attempt to make him stop. It seemed that Logan was intent on killing his father though, and he shouted with each hit Aaron took.

"You bastard! Did you even think about me? Or mom? Or Lilly for that matter? Look at what you've done! You better pray I don't leak this to the tabloids. Or even worse, Trina! I'll tell her, and soon everyone in America will know!" Logan roared. Lynn stopped her screams, and stood there, tears rolling down her face helplessly. Veronica finally made it close to Logan, and she was determined to stop the fighting.

"Logan, honey. You've gotta stop. Please." She pleaded. His punches slowed and came to an abrupt stop. He rolled of his bleeding father and into Veronica's arms.

"Let's go." He declared. Veronica stood immediately, and helped Logan stand up. Lynn looked from her son to her husband's broken body, trying to decide who to help first.

"He doesn't need a doctor or anything. Just an ice pack." Veronica declared after examining Aaron. He had a bloody nose, and Logan had bruised him in some places, but Veronica could tell nothing was broken. Lynn nodded, and kneeled beside her husband. He sat up quickly, and pointed to Logan.

"You better stay out of my house, boy. I don't accept behavior like that from _my_ son. Especially when I haven't done anything to deserve it." Aaron warned Logan. That did it. Logan snapped, and turned to face his father again, his face purple.

"Didn't do anything? DIDN'T DO ANYTHING? YOU GOT MY GIRLFRIEND _PREGNANT!_ I CALL THAT _SOMETHING!_ And you don't have to worry about me being in this house. I wouldn't stay in the same place as you if I was going to get a million freaking dollars. You're a bastard and I hope Lilly does a paternity test and that it's your kid and blackmails you straight to your grave. Although, the downside to that is, her poor kid has to deal with _your_ DNA inside it. So maybe it'd be better off with that gangster as a father anyways." Logan snarled. Veronica looked from Logan to Aaron to Lynn. Logan seemed to have gotten out what he needed to say, as he looked perfectly indifferent. Aaron was angry, his mouth frozen in a freakish grimace. Poor Lynn looked completely dumbfounded, as though she had been pretending all this time that Lilly Kane wasn't pregnant or having an affair with her husband. Poor Lynn Echolls had been dealt the short end of the stick, again.

Veronica and Logan ran from the house after his outburst, not wanting another fight to go down.

"Where are you gonna stay?" Veronica asked.

"Hold on." Logan ran back towards the house. Veronica started to protest, but Logan ignored her.

Half an hour later, he returned with a suitcase packed and his backpack.

"I need clothes and stuff for school." He explained. Veronica nodded, still upset he'd gone back into the house.

"I'm gonna go rent a room at the Neptune Grand. I asked my mom, who was in the kitchen, and she gave me one of her credit cards to pay with. I'll stop by later, and we can go visit Lilly and then do something." Logan suggested. Again, Veronica only nodded, still attempting to process the events of the day. Logan leaned down, and met her lips. They held the kiss for a few minutes, before Logan leaned away.

"Mmm. I can't wait till later." He winked, and Veronica nearly smiled. Logan was the only person who could do that to her, make her smile in a bad situation. Duncan had tried many times, but Logan was the only person besides her father who could manage it.

"Call me." She whispered, as he climbed into the bright Xterra. He smiled kindly at her, before revving the engine. He watched as she climbed into her car, and sat in the driver's seat, putting her fingers to her lips, her lips that still burned from the kiss. He honked as he drove past her, and caught the smile that lit up her face. He could almost forget his father and Lilly and the baby with that smile. Almost.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7: **_**Caught Red-Handed**_

Veronica drove back to the apartment, absorbed in her own thoughts. She parked in the parking lot, and just sat in the car for a few moments. She really didn't like this new apartment. Veronica desperately wished they could've stayed at the house. But Keith Mars couldn't take being constantly reminded of his wife, so he had moved himself and Veronica into a smaller, more suitable apartment.

She finally exited the car and climbed the stairs up to the second floor. No neighbors were around, so she didn't have to fake a smile and make small talk, thank God. Veronica unlocked the door, praying her father wasn't home yet. She crept into the front hallway slowly, trying to pretend like she wasn't coming in. She shut the door and locked it, thinking she was home free.

"Boo." A voice behind her called out flatly. Veronica jumped ten feet in the air and spun around to find her father cracking up.

"Nice to see you too." Veronica replied. Keith continued to laugh, and Veronica crossed her arms angrily.

"I was just kidding, sweetheart. And why were you trying to pull a sneak-by anyways?" Keith asked, concern replacing the humor in his eyes. Veronica ignored him and moved to sit at the table. Keith took the seat across from her.

"No reason." Veronica finally replied. Keith raised his eyebrows, clearly not believing the reply.

"How was the beach? Did you have a good time?" Keith tried again. Veronica groaned mentally when she recalled she had told her father where she was headed that morning. Well, it was time to decide: tell Keith everything or make up a fake story?

"Veronica…Earth to Mars…" Keith waved his hand in front of Veronica's face and she snapped back to attention.

"Oh…um…alright. I'm going to tell you something. But you _have_ to keep it quiet. No discussion around the water cooler." Veronica warned. Keith nodded and made a childish motion of zipping his lips shut. Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Lilly's…pregnant." Veronica blurted, not wanting to beat around the bush. Keith's face remained masked, but Veronica thought she saw stress flash in his eyes.

"Logan?" Keith managed to get out, sounding calm.

"No." Veronica replied quickly. It was in fact, such a quick response that even Keith noticed something was up.

"You can breath before you respond, Veronica." Keith commented. Veronica kept her lips smashed together.

"Is something going on between you and Logan?" Keith continued. Veronica opened her mouth and shut it again, unsure of how to respond. Her cheeks gave her away.

"My, my, my. I don't think I've ever seen a tomato that red. Do Duncan and Lilly know?" Keith questioned. Veronica nodded, still too embarrassed to say anything.

"Well, if Logan isn't the father, than who is?" Veronica noticed how Keith had trouble saying Logan's name, now that he was aware of his daughter's relationship with the young man.

"Lilly…doesn't exactly know who it is." Veronica confessed. Keith showed no sign of surprise.

"And why am I not surprised?" Keith seemed to read Veronica's mind.

"She thinks it might be this guy Eli Navarro. PCH leader." Veronica offered.

"He's not too bad, I guess. Not as bad as I might've expected from young Miss Kane." Keith professed. Veronica nodded.

"There's…another possibility too, Dad." Veronica kicked herself mentally for blurting that one out. Like her dad really needed to know her new boyfriend's dad may or may not have knocked up her best friend as well as her boyfriend's ex.

"Who?" Keith was cautious. Veronica's expression had visibly changed into one of self doubt and regret.

"Aaron." It was all Veronica could manage to say. She may have shared everything with her father, but this was new territory, an area of unexplored conversations they had never had to have.

"Aaron…does he go to your school?" Keith was too naïve to immediately recognize Logan's father's name.

"No, Dad. He's much older than Lilly. Old enough to be her dad." Veronica wanted to hit herself for confessing such an important detail. Keith showed no comprehension of who Veronica was discussing.

"Hmm. I'm disappointed in Lilly, but can't say I'm surprised." Veronica breathed a sigh of relief when her father didn't catch on to the fact that Logan's father was Aaron Echolls. There would've been hell to pay for that little tidbit, and Veronica just wasn't ready to breach that wall.

"Yeah. I know. And someone slipped Lilly something to make her lose the baby. She started bleeding at the beach and we took her to the hospital. The baby's okay, and so is Lilly, but she's really worried." Veronica informed Keith. Finally, Keith seemed appropriately shocked.

"Do you have any idea who did it?" Keith was now in full sheriff's mode.

"A couple thoughts, but that's about it. I'm gonna look into it." Veronica explained. Keith's expression darkened.

"I want you to be careful. Make sure Logan or Duncan is with you whenever you do any surveillance. Or even that Navarro kid, if he's all you can manage." Keith demanded. Veronica nodded, and she got a dreamy look in her eyes as she imagined following someone with Logan as a bodyguard. It would probably be a better idea to bring someone else, Logan would distract her way too much.

"Hey. Some of us want to keep our lunches, thanks." Keith interjected. Veronica snapped back to reality, and stuck her tongue out at the father. He snickered.

"You're just mad because all you've got is me." Veronica chided. Keith laughed.

"You and Back-up." He reminded her. Veronica whistled, and the dog came directly to her.

"Whatever you say, Pops." Veronica gloated. Keith grinned, and stood up.

"What do you want for dinner?" He asked, heading for the kitchen.

"Um…Logan is coming to pick me up in a little while, so I'll probably eat with him. If that's okay." Veronica replied nervously. Keith turned around, and patted his legs to get Back-up to come to him. Back-up stood slowly and meandered to Keith with no enthusiasm.

"Oh, sure. Go out with your new boyfriend. Back-up and I'll just stay here and wait for you." Keith assured her. Veronica groaned.

"Don't act so upset, honey. When will young Logan be here?" Keith inquired. Veronica checked her phone, and shot her dad a suspicious look.

"He said around 6:30. Why?" She asked.

"That's in 20 minutes. I'll be right back." Keith walked into his bedroom while Veronica remained in the kitchen, very confused. Keith returned with an old handgun that had been his dad's, and a home video from when Veronica was 6.

"Oh, no. No you don't. You are not gonna be watching that and cleaning your gun when Logan gets here. I can't allow it!" Veronica protested, but Keith had already sat down on the couch.

"If I start now it'll be to the part where you tell me you plan on not having sex until you're married and I make you pinky promise." Keith reminded her. Veronica moaned and stomped into her room to get ready for her date. Keith laughed and put in the tape, watching his young daughter dance across the television. He began wiping off the gun, and chuckled at the thought of Logan Echolls walking into this scene.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8: **_**Childhood Memories**_

Veronica emerged 15 minutes later, clad in a simple white dress with heels. Keith was still watching the embarrassing home video, and Veronica rolled her eyes as she sat down next to him on the couch. On screen, 6-year old Veronica was running around with one of those ribbons attached to a stick, looking cheerful and innocent. She softened slightly at the image, until Keith looked down at his watch.

"Oh, honey. Show's about to start." He smiled. Veronica moaned.

"Do you _have_ to?" She pleaded, as Keith pulled his old gun into his lap and started to polish it with a washcloth. Veronica sighed, exasperated.

"I did it to Duncan, didn't I? You didn't fight this much when I did it then." Keith noted. Veronica turned red. Suddenly, the picture on the screen changed to Veronica sitting at the table, eating a bowl of ice cream. Her father was holding the camera, so you couldn't see him, but you could sure hear him.

"_Veronica? What's your whole name?" _He asked. Veronica smiled sweetly at him, ice cream dripping down her chin.

"_Veronica Lianne Mars."_ She replied, her voice high and squeaky. Veronica winced, both at the sound, and at the knowledge of what followed on this little home video.

"_How old are you, Veronica?"_ Keith fed her another line.

"_I'm 6 and a half." _She responded in that same little voice. Besides the now big Veronica, Keith started to countdown.

"5...4...3..." Before he could say two, the door bell rang. Veronica reached for the remote, but Keith held it out of her reach.

"Why don't you go let our guest in, Veronica?" Keith motioned gently towards the door. Veronica scowled at him, but stood up to let Logan in. On the television, Keith was still feeding little Veronica questions. They were innocent for now, just when her birthday was and where she lived, and right now she was rattling off her address and phone number. There were only a few more innocent questions until the embarrassment would begin. Veronica prayed she'd be able to get herself and Logan out before those started.

She opened the door, and Logan turned to face her. His face lit up when he saw her, and he hugged her tightly.

"Hey, Ronnie. What's up?" He asked. All of Veronica's tension and stress melted away, and she smiled and shrugged her shoulders.

"Ready?" He started to ask, and Veronica was about to nod, but Keith intervened.

"Oh, Logan? Would you like to come here for a second?" Keith called. Logan looked down at Veronica, and she shook her head furiously. Logan laughed, and pushed his way past her into the apartment, holding her hand as he went to sit in the chair facing Keith's position on the couch.

To Veronica's dismay, Keith had paused the home video. He obviously didn't plan on letting Logan miss any of the good stuff when it came to this video.

"Hello, Mr. Mars. How are you this evening?" Logan greeted politely. Keith shook Logan's hand, and Logan turned to face the screen, pretending to be oblivious to the gun Keith was polishing. Keith was the sheriff for God's sakes, Logan had known he had a gun, as well as the power to put him in jail if he wanted to.

"I'm doing just fine, Logan. Just watching an old home video. Care to join me for a second?" Keith requested innocently, grinning widely. Logan ignored Veronica's frantic blonde head shaking wildly, and smiled.

"Sounds wonderful. Are they of your beautiful daughter?" Logan inquired. Veronica's eyes grew to the size of saucers.

"Indeed, they are. I think you'll rather enjoy it." Keith laughed, and pushed play on the remote.

"_Veronica? Do you like any boys?"_ Keith asked. Veronica visibly thinks about the question before responding.

"_I like Eric from the Little Mermaid. And this boy in my class." _Veronica replied. Veronica's face turned bright red as she remembered who the boy was.

"_Really? Which boy?"_ Keith questioned her. Veronica smiled sweetly. Logan was shaking with silent laughter on the couch.

"_There are two, actually. I kind of like Duncan, but not really. He's just cute. And I also like Logan. I like him a lot." _Veronica responded, her voice spinning with sugar. Veronica was now officially the color of a rose, and Logan was crying from the laughter.

"_Logan and Duncan, huh? They're two nice boys. Which one are you going to marry?"_ Keith asked.

"_Neither. I'm gonna marry Aladdin or the Beast from Beauty & The Beast. After he turns into a prince, of course." _Veronica informed Keith matter of factly. Tears were still streaming down Logan's face, and Veronica was now nearly purple from the embarrassment.

"_Are you gonna have babies?"_ Keith asked.

"_Maybe. But I'm not gonna try making any until I'm married, duh."_ Little Veronica rolled her eyes like Keith's questions were ridiculous. Logan's laughter had abruptly ended, although it was only because he was trying to be polite for Veronica's sake.

"_Pinky promise?"_ Keith asked, in a sad attempt to hook his daughter into a life-long chastity promise. 6-year old Veronica smiled and held out her pinky, and took Keith's. They shook, and then Veronica was off like a shot, no longer visible in the screen of the camera.

Veronica grabbed the remote and quickly turned off the television. Her cheeks were still blood red, and Keith turned to look at Logan, who had watery eyes from all the laughing.

"Well, that was nice of you to hold off on your date Logan. And remember, she did pinky promise." Keith joked. Logan burst into another bought of laughter, as Veronica stomped towards the door. She tapped her foot impatiently and Logan walked over to her.

"No worries sir. We'll be in the company of others the entire evening. Veronica will stay true to that pinky promise of hers." Logan assured him. Veronica stomped out of the door without saying goodbye to her father. Keith waved from the open door though, watching as Logan and Veronica descended down the stairs leading out of the apartment.

"Aladdin huh?" Logan snickered, as Veronica buckled her seatbelt in the front seat of the Xterra.

"Shut up, Logan." She snapped. He only laughed.

"You liked me when you were 6? That's pretty surprising. As I recall it, you poured red finger-paint on my head." Logan recalled. Veronica loosened up a bit at the memory.

"Only because you cut all the hair off my Detective Barbie." She reminded him.

"I did that cause I liked you. You wouldn't pay any attention to anyone unless they would play with that doll with you." Logan laughed. Veronica joined in, finally over the embarrassment of the home movie fiasco.

"Yeah, well. I poured the red paint on you, even though it was my favorite. That should've clued you in." She giggled.

"Oh, yeah. If you'd used yellow like you did on Duncan, then it would've meant you couldn't stand me." He hit his head, miming like he was such an idiot for thinking otherwise.

"Yellow was my 2nd favorite, for your information. I can't stand pink, which is what I poured on Madison Sinclair's head." She responded. Logan laughed.

"You pulled that paint thing on everyone except for Lilly, girl." Logan mocked. Veronica blushed slightly, as she remembered how many times her parents had gotten called in for her dumping paint on people.

"You know me." Veronica joked. Logan chuckled, and threw his arm around her as he drove. Veronica leaned into his shoulder. It was fate, she supposed, that her dad had recorded that video, and shown it to Logan, when it included Veronica confessing her childhood crush on Logan, a crush that had never stopped.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9:**_** Apologies**_

Logan and Veronica pulled into the hospital parking lot. Logan idled for a few seconds before turning off the engine.

"Maybe I should wait here." He reasoned. Veronica turned to face him, shaking her head.

"Oh, no you don't. If I go, you go." Veronica pulled on his arm, but he stayed put.

"Veronica, I don't think I'm ready to talk to Lilly about this whole thing yet." His eyes were pleading with her, but she wasn't about to let him get out of it that easily.

"Fine. You wait here, and I'll go in and see Lilly. Duncan will probably be in there, so I can talk to him if Lilly falls asleep or something. Just me…and Duncan. Talking, sitting, all alone…" Veronica rambled. Logan hissed, and was out of the car in seconds. He walked around and opened Veronica's door for her, offering his hand to her.

"What made you change your mind?" Veronica asked sweetly. Logan scowled at her.

"You and Duncan will be in a room by yourselves over my dead body." Logan growled. Veronica merely laughed.

"We have classes together, you know." She reminded him. Logan rolled his eyes.

"You may not have noticed previously, but I'm in the majority of those classes. And the ones I'm not in, Lilly is. Good try though, Mars." Logan responded. Now it was Veronica's turn for an eye roll.

"Oh, please. Like he's really gonna throw me on the floor and have his way with me and then I'll get pregnant and we'll have a shotgun wedding and I'll live my happy go-lucky life and forget all about Logan Echolls." Veronica sneered at the very idea. Logan, on the other hand, squeezed her hand.

"Can't take any chances. I didn't pay this much attention to Lilly, and look where it got us." Logan pointed out. Veronica was struck silent by the truth of this statement.

They entered the hospital and walked towards the elevators. Logan and Veronica were on Lilly's floor a few minutes later, and Logan hesitated as they neared her room.

"You go in first. I need a couple of minutes." Logan pushed Veronica towards the door. She glared at him first, before walking in unaccompanied.

Lilly and Duncan were both watching T.V. with blank looks in their eyes. They both lit up when Veronica entered the room.

"Hey, Lils. How are you feeling?" Veronica asked, sitting in the seat beside Lilly's bed. Duncan scooted his chair, and suddenly was directly beside Veronica. The proximity immediately made Veronica wish Logan had come in with her.

"Better. Eli's still pretty pissed. He hasn't tried to see or talk to me since this afternoon." Lilly sighed. Veronica rubbed her arm. It was clear that Lilly had fallen in love with Weevil. Veronica was pretty sure Weevil returned the feeling, but had been very hurt by Lilly's betrayal.

"I'm sure he'll come around. He got a tattoo for you, for God's sake." Veronica reassured Lilly. Lilly nodded, although her eyes said that she didn't 100% believe in what Veronica was saying. Duncan had scooted just a tiny bit closer, and his knee brushed Veronica's. Veronica crossed her legs, moving a tiny bit farther out of Duncan's reach.

"Yeah, I guess. I hope the baby is his." Lilly lamented. Duncan patted his sister's hand, obviously hoping for the same. Veronica, on the other hand, snorted.

"What?" Duncan and Lilly asked at the same time.

"Well, just yesterday, you were praying it wasn't Weevil's. Talking about how he couldn't afford to support you and a baby." Veronica reminded. Lilly balked.

"After the way Aaron took the news, I've obviously changed my mind. With good reason." Lilly barked. Veronica immediately regretted bringing up Lilly's past feelings on the father of her child.

"I'm sorry Lilly. I'm just stressed out that it is Aaron's kid." Veronica softened. Lilly nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean. He's got no fatherly inclinations. It's a wonder Logan turned out okay." Lilly reasoned. Duncan smiled, and Veronica scoffed.

"Logan turned out better than okay, Lilly. He's perfect." Veronica cooed. Duncan looked towards the T.V. again, pretending not to have heard Veronica. Lilly laughed.

"Okay, Ronnie. If you say so. I think Weevil is the epitome of perfection, but to each her own." Lilly giggled. Veronica joined in her laughter.

"And I think Lilly is." A voice said from over by the door. Everyone turned to see Weevil standing there, holding a bouquet of purple tulips. Lilly's face shined with happiness at the sight of him, and she accepted his flowers gratefully.

"I didn't think you were coming back." Lilly whispered. Eli laughed.

"I was pissed, Lilly. But, I'm over it. A girl as pretty as you has to have plenty of suitors. I'm just glad you picked me." Weevil leaned over Lilly and kissed her sweetly on the lips. Veronica and Duncan pretended to be fascinated by the commercial on the screen, in an attempt to give Weevil and Lilly a private moment. Duncan turned to Veronica.

"I think you're pretty perfect Veronica." Duncan said in a hushed tone. Veronica stiffened as Duncan touched her shoulder gently. Before she could protest, someone had pulled Duncan's hand off of her.

"Were you not listening DK? She called me perfect just a minute ago. Not you." Logan snarled. Duncan turned red and stalked out of the room, under the pretense of getting a soda from the machine.

"Thanks." Veronica told Logan. He shrugged.

"And now you see what I was talking about earlier. He shouldn't have lied either. You're 100% perfect." He chuckled. Veronica smiled and took his hand in hers.

"C'mere lovebirds. I want us all to be together." Lilly called from across the room. Veronica and Logan walked over to her. Lilly's eyes filled with tears when Logan approached her.

"I'm so sorry, Logan. I don't know what I was thinking. Can I plead temporary insanity?" She joked, but her charade was paper thin.

"Hell yes. I'll pretend my dad seduced you or something. No problem. And if it is his kid in there, I recommend you blackmail him." Logan suggested. Everyone laughed.

"I'll keep it in my mind, but I'm hoping it's someone else's." Lilly looked shyly towards Eli. He grinned back at her.

"Are you getting a paternity test?" Veronica asked, breaking up the romantic moment. Lilly's face turned pale.

"I…I'm not ready. I just couldn't take it…if…if" Lilly was at a loss for words. Tears were quickly falling down her face. Veronica felt terrible for asking. She'd never seen her friend this upset, and it killed her a little.

"You'll be able to tell right away anyways. If it looks like this rich boy over here, it's sure as hell not mine." Eli snickered. Everyone laughed, even Lilly, although she was still crying a little.

"Don't worry about it, Kane. This baby will have plenty of love, whether it's a PCH/09er combination, or your ticket to a great beach house." Logan joked. Everyone laughed. Duncan returned, and felt slightly left out of the group, the fifth wheel, the single man in a room full of soul mates.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10: **_**An Unexpected Visitor**_

Everyone was lounging around, perfectly content, when things started to go wrong. Logan and Veronica were sitting in the chairs beside Lilly, and Logan had his arm casually around Veronica's shoulder. Duncan was across from them, and switched off from shooting jealous looks to Logan and pleading looks to Veronica. Logan merely smiled when Duncan shot him a look, and Veronica would always tilt her head towards Logan. Lilly and Weevil were lying together on the bed. Suddenly, outside the room, they heard the nurses whispering excitedly.

"What do you think is going on?" Veronica whispered to Logan. Logan looked towards the doorway.

"I dunno. Maybe Katie Holmes fell off a cliff or something." He shrugged. Veronica elbowed him in the stomach for not taking it seriously.

"Ow! Is that anyway to treat Mr. Perfect?" Logan gasped. Veronica made a face at him, knowing she would regret saying that when he was around him.

"Miss Kane? You have a visitor. He'll be coming in a few minutes, he stopped to sign autographs." A nurse swung her head around the door and informed Lilly.

"What do you mean autographs? Who is it?" Lilly asked, clutching Weevil's hand.

"Aaron Echolls." The nurse replied excitedly. Logan growled, and Veronica inhaled quickly. Lilly began to shake her head, and Weevil's face turned livid. Duncan merely remained seated in his chair, a disbelieving look on his face.

"Lilly…maybe you should see him. Let him offer some help." Duncan suggested. Logan and Veronica hit him at exactly the same time.

"Yeah, Duncan. And at the same time, maybe Logan and I could start having sex in front of you. Just so everyone here is equally uncomfortable." Veronica snapped. Duncan slid back into his chair, having offered his suggestion.

"Lilly…I can't be here. I've got to go. I'll kill him if I see him, swear to God." Weevil explained. Lilly shook her head.

"Will everyone calm down? I've got an idea." Lilly interrupted the heated discussions.

"What Lilly?" Logan asked, the only one capable of speech at the moment. He'd gotten out all his feelings at his father, and was now pretending Aaron Echolls was nothing more than a stupid movie star.

"Go lie down on the bed next to me and close the curtain. All of you. I want people to hear whatever he says to me, in case he lets something slip. I need witnesses to back me up. If one of you wanted to record it…that'd be great." She demanded. Eli and Duncan shook their heads, but Logan and Veronica nodded.

"C'mon guys. It's not a bad idea. Logan and I will share the bed while you sit in the visitor seats. We'll here everything, and if he tries anything, we're right here to stop him." Veronica explained. She could hear footsteps approaching the room, and knew Weevil and Duncan would have to agree soon.

"Fine." They both agreed tersely. Logan and Veronica ran to the bed and slid into it quietly, while Duncan closed the curtain behind them. Eli sat in a chair, sulking.

"Can you see us, Lilly?" Logan called.

"No! And shut up, he's coming in!" Lilly half-yelled, half-whispered. They heard the door open, and two pairs of feet walked in.

"Honey? Where did your friends go?" The nurse asked.

"Oh, they left. Logan and Veronica had a date, and Duncan and Weevil thought it best to let me rest." Lilly lied. The nurse seemed to accept the answer, as they could hear her footsteps leaving the room.

"Thank you for your hospitality!" Logan's fists clenched when he heard his father's fake-kind voice. It was a voice he'd heard one too many times as a child, and he was more than sick of it now that they'd had a falling out.

"Hello, Aaron." Lilly greeted coldly. Aaron chuckled.

"Nice to see you too, Lilly. Why are you in here?" Aaron asked, still chuckling. Logan had opened his mouth to speak, but Veronica covered it with her hand.

"I had some baby troubles." Lilly replied. Veronica wondered about the look on Aaron's face. She wondered if he was surprised, or angry.

"Is it alright?" Aaron questioned. Veronica recognized his tone as hopeful, and she knew he was hoping Lilly had lost it.

"It's just fine. Looks like you'll be a daddy all over again in 7 short months." Lilly said, sweetly. Logan had to fight back the laugh that bubbled into his throat.

"How can you be so sure it's mine, Kane?" Aaron was clearly implying that he knew Lilly hadn't been sleeping with just him.

"It's not Logan's." She challenged. Veronica wished she could see Aaron's face, so desperately that she moved as if to get out of the bed. Logan wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her back down, silently.

"Fine. If you're so sure it's mine, I'll pay to have it aborted." Aaron reported. Now, all three of the men behind the curtain with Veronica had their fists clenched and grimaces on their face.

"You will do nothing of the sort! I've talked it over with my parents, I'm keeping my baby." Lilly warned. Aaron let out a sigh of exasperation.

"Is that wise, Lilly? You'll ruin your future." Aaron threatened.

"It sounds to me like you're more concerned with your future than mine." Lilly laughed humorlessly.

"Please. If you tell anyone this baby is mine, I'll deny it." Aaron snarled. Lilly laughed again.

"It's pretty hard to deny genetic evidence, Aaron. My parents are making me get a paternity test once the baby is big enough." She mocked.

"Why? If you're so sure it's mine?" Aaron noted. Veronica began to panic when she realized Lilly's mistake, but Logan had a huge smile on his face, like he understood the trap Lilly set up.

"I can't exactly tell my parents it's yours. But they know it's not Logan's." Lilly informed him.

"This isn't a game, Lilly. If there's a possibility that child isn't mine, I want to know." Aaron growled. Lilly snickered.

"Fine. It's slightly plausible that the baby is someone else's. But I'm sure E! will manage to forget that part of the story." Lilly sneered. Veronica's face lit up, and her grin matched Logan's.

"If you tell the press this one Lilly, it'll be the end of you and me. I'll go to prison." Aaron's voice had an edge to it, and Veronica realized he was beginning to see that Lilly held all the winning cards in this game.

"Wow. Now isn't that a reason _not_ to tell anyone." Veronica could hear the sarcasm dripping from Lilly's tone.

"I know you've already told Duncan, Logan, and Veronica Mars. No one else." Aaron warned. Lilly laughed again.

"Whatever you say, Papa." She gloated. They could all here Aaron stomp out of the room and slam the door behind himself. Eli, Duncan, Logan, and Veronica emerged from behind the curtain.

"So, does that make it sound like he tried to kill my baby?" Lilly asked immediately. Veronica shrugged.

"It didn't rule him out, but he didn't sound particularly guilty. I think he just wanted to confront you, and he's finally opening up to the possibility it's his child." Veronica assured her. Lilly nodded.

"I hope it's not his. Even though it would be nice to have that kind of dirt on him, I'd rather it was Eli's." Logan said. Everyone in the room agreed.

"So…" Eli said, sliding next to Lilly. His tone suggested everyone else should go.

"Well, be seeing you." Duncan, Logan, and Veronica exited the room, not wanting to watch the two of them making out.

"Hey, can I catch a ride with you, Ronnie?" Duncan asked, his motive clear. Logan shook his head fiercely.

"We're on a date, DK. Better call Mommy and Daddy." Logan drawled. He put a protective arm around Veronica, as if to ensure Duncan got the message.

"Oh. I get it." Duncan replied, sulking again. Veronica rolled her eyes at their mini-battle. She and Logan strolled ahead while Duncan called his parents, and they were so involved in themselves that they missed Aaron, flirting with a nurse. Aaron, who'd heard every word of the conversation in Lilly's hospital room.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11: **_**The Plot Thickens**_

Aaron walked out of the hospital, whistling to himself. The information he'd gotten out of that room wasn't particularly useful, as he'd known almost all of it. The only things he could actually use were the fact that Lilly Kane wasn't entirely sure he was the father, and the fact that Veronica Mars would be watching him. Closely. Aaron knew Veronica was a major threat. She was smart, cunning, and Logan was crazy about her. It was a triple threat. Lilly Kane had been none of the three, and therefore an easy target for his lust.

If he was going to be 100% honest, Veronica scared him. Aaron Echolls had plenty of skeletons in his closet, and the last thing he needed was Veronica Mars snooping around. She obviously thought he was the primary suspect in the attempted murder of that damn baby, and it would be difficult to make her think he was innocent. It wouldn't matter to her if he was or not, unless he could provide her with the name of the real threat.

Aaron supposed that was his answer. He was going to have to start looking into the matter himself, and find someone who had both the motive and the resources to pull off something like this. After that, he would lead Veronica onto that trail, and she would be off his scent. After that, Aaron could return to his seedier dealings in peace. Aaron smiled to himself at the thought of fooling a girl as clever as Veronica, and missed the group of fans that was following him, holding out Sharpies and spiral notebooks, eager grins on their faces, as they were faced with their favorite movie star.

Lilly was sleeping quietly in her hospital bed when the door creaked open. Beside her, on a chair, Weevil was also sleeping, his mouth opened wide. Duncan had left, having called a taxi to take him home after being brutally turned down by Veronica. (Well, as far as Logan and Veronica knew, it had taken him home).

Someone creeped quietly into Lilly's room, and surveyed the scene. Weevil and Lilly were holding hands in their sleep, although they seemed completely unaware of it. Both of their arms were bent at awkward angles, but they seemed determined to stay connected in spite of it. Watching them, the intruder shook their head, and slipped past Lilly's bed towards Weevil.

They reached towards the unattached hand on the other side of Weevil, and slipped a piece of paper into it. Weevil stirred slightly, and they froze. After a few seconds though, Weevil began to snore again, and the person breathed a quiet sigh of relief. The tiptoed over to Lilly, and shifted her golden hair silently. After that, they slipped a second note under her pillow. Smiling at their handiwork, the intruder slipped quietly out of the room, and into the hospital hallway. On their way out, they were careless and slammed the door, and Weevil jumped awake. The note left by the strange visitor floated gently to the floor, and Weevil took no notice of it.

"Lilly…Lilly, wake up." Weevil gently shook Lilly awake.

"Eli? What…what is it? What time is it?" Lilly asked groggily.

"It's about 7:00. We both fell asleep. I heard the door slam, and it woke me up." Weevil explained. Lilly shifted into a sitting position. Her hand brushed the underside of the pillow, and she felt stiff paper underneath.

"What the hell…?" Lilly grabbed the note and unfolded it. As she read, her eyes grew wider and wider.

"Lilly? What is it? Are you alright?" Weevil demanded. Lilly could only manage a shake of her head.

"You…you need to call Veronica. And Duncan. I want them here." Lilly murmured, her eyes still roaming the note.

"Why? What does it say?" Weevil snatched the note out of her hand, and Lilly helplessly watched him read it. His eyebrows drew closer and closer together, and when he finished, his face was aglow with anger.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and angrily punched in Veronica's number.

"Veronica? Yeah, it's Weevil. No, Lilly's…well, she's fine for now. You and Richie Rich need to get your asses down here. Pick up Duncan on the way. Yeah, it's bad. Alright, I'll see you." Weevil hung up, still fuming.

"It'll be okay, Eli. Veronica will fix it, you'll see." Lilly promised, grasping onto his hand.

"Do you think we'll ever manage to have a normal date?" Logan wondered aloud as he drove the Xterra towards the Kane mansion.

"I sure hope so. I was so enjoying mini-golf until this." Veronica smiled at him. Logan laughed.

"I would've won, Veronica, no doubt about it. I just needed to warm up." Logan defended. Now it was Veronica's turn to laugh.

"Ok, sure. Hey, do you want to go up and get him?" Veronica asked.

"Yes. He may try man-handling you again if you go." Logan said seriously. Veronica rolled her eyes, and Logan hopped out of the car. He strode up to the door and rang the doorbell. Jake Kane answered.

"Logan? We really don't want to hear your apologies right now." Jake crossed his arms, denying Logan entrance to the house. Logan sighed.

"Well, sir, I don't have an apology for you, seeing as I'm not the father of your grandkid. Or didn't Lilly mention that?" Logan smiled. Jake's face turned ashen, and he took a step backward, almost as though Logan had actually hit him.

"What…what do you want then?" Jake managed to ask.

"Duncan. Veronica and I need him. We were on our way to see Lilly, and she requested his presence." Logan explained vaguely. Jake nodded, and called for his son. Duncan jogged into the front hallway, and abruptly stopped when he was Logan.

"What do you want?" Duncan asked coldly. Jake looked from his son to Logan curiously.

"Lilly wants you." Logan replied tersely. He'd seen how Duncan had peeked around him, to find Veronica sitting in the front seat. After that, Duncan had stopped focusing on Logan, and was staring at Logan's car.

"Oh, alright. Let's roll." Duncan waved goodbye to his father and walked out the front door. After the door was closed, Logan grabbed Duncan's shoulder and held him back.

"Hey man. I can tell you're still hung up on Veronica. I just wanted to let you know I'm not letting her get away too easily. I won't give up without a fight." Logan warned. Duncan rolled his eyes.

"Neither will I, old friend. She may have picked you for now, but after being around the good old Echolls family for a few days, who knows? She may decide she enjoys normalcy and decency. And after what happened to the last girl you had around your father, well, let's just say Veronica isn't the type to make many stupid mistakes." Duncan started to laugh, but Logan tackled him. The two struggled with each other, wrestling on the stone driveway.

Veronica had leaped out of the car and over to the two fighting boys.

"Duncan! Logan! Stop!" She yelled. When neither listened to her, she decided she was going to have to get her hands dirty. Veronica walked over to the rolling pair, and grabbed someone's ass, as it was what she thought would make them stop the fastest. As a matter of fact, the person she grabbed rolled off of the other bleeding boy, and pulled her down to lie on top of him.

"One way to end a fight…" Logan laughed, as Veronica struggled to get up.

"Very funny, Logan. Let me go." Veronica pleaded. Logan only laughed again, while Duncan watched, wiping blood from his mouth.

"Hey, I'm not the one who was grabbing butts. That was all you." Logan chuckled, and Veronica scowled. He gently pulled her up with him, and then proceeded to kiss her deeply, directly in front of his adversary. Duncan pretended to look at the sky, while Veronica slowly relaxed into Logan's hold. After a few seconds of uncomfortable silence, Logan pulled away and smiled brightly at Duncan.

"Let's get going all." Duncan brushed some dirt off himself as Logan and Veronica led the way to the car. Veronica was brushing the dirt off Logan, and he grabbed her hand when she reached towards his shorts.

"We're in polite company, Ronnie dearest." Logan reminded her. Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Please Logan. Just because you can't hold in your sexual desires, doesn't mean everyone can't." Veronica scolded. Logan laughed.

"What did Weevil want anyways?" Duncan asked, after being filled in in the car. Veronica shrugged.

"I guess we'll find out." Veronica said, as Logan sped off towards the hospital, and all three were filled with thoughts of death threats and miscarriages.


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12: _Danger_**

"Lilly! What the hell is going on? You ruined my date with Veronica!" Logan stomped into the hospital room, and Lilly rolled her eyes.

"Whatever Logan, you'll have plenty more, I'm sure." Lilly snapped. Weevil looked from one to the other, and breathed a sigh of relief when Veronica entered.

"Here." Weevil thrust the date-ruining note at Veronica. Veronica grabbed it quickly, and scanned it.

_Dear Lilly Kane,_

_I hear you've got some "good news". I wish congratulations could be in order, but I'm afraid it won't be working out in a fairy-tale ending sort of way. You won't be having that baby, one way or another. Believe me, all your little friends will be standing over your gravestone before they're welcoming your bastard child into the world. I'm sorry to do this too you, but it's for your own protection. You do not want to be on Aaron Echolls's bad side._

_My Sincerest Apologies,_

_A Concerned Friend_

"Oh my god. Did you see who left it?" Veronica asked, concern coloring her voice. Lilly shook her head, tears filling her eyes again.

"Let me read it." Logan pulled the note from Veronica and read it. His face slowly drained of color, and he handed it wordlessly to Duncan. Duncan let out a roar of primal rage at the words on the lined-piece of paper. Veronica patted his shoulder gently in an effort to calm him, and it worked nearly immediately.

"You're the damn sleuth here Veronica. Who did it?" Weevil demanded, and Veronica shook her head.

"I may be smart Weevil, and the sheriff's daughter, but that doesn't mean I automatically can come up with a perpetrator. Where's my suspect list anyways?" Veronica searched and Lilly handed it to her.

"Okay, I'm going to go through every suspect. If they've got an alibi that you know of, tell me, and I'll cross them off. The person attempting to kill your baby obviously did this." Veronica instructed, and everyone nodded.

"Aaron Echolls." Veronica recited.

"No alibi. He's a definite possibility." Logan filled in, and Lilly nodded in complete agreement.

"Logan, but he was on a date with me. It couldn't have been Logan." Veronica crossed Logan off the list without questions from anyone.

"Duncan Kane." Veronica recited. The room was silent as everyone turned to look at Duncan.

"Um, hello? You all saw me get into a taxi. And you just picked me up at my house, I would not have had time to run home and look all surprised at your arrival. Plus, did you miss the roar of rage?" Duncan defended himself, and everyone consented to the fact that it was impossible for Duncan to have completed the task.

"Celeste Kane." Veronica read.

"She could've. She wasn't home when I got home, and she didn't ever arrive while I was there." Duncan admitted grudgingly. It pained him to submit his own mother as a suspect, but the proof was there in black and white.

"Jake Kane." Veronica read. She began to cross him off, but Duncan stopped her.

"Why are you crossing him off?" Duncan asked. Veronica gave him a look like he was a complete moron.

"He was home when we picked you up." Veronica reminded him, her voice dripping with that "duh" quality.

"No, but he'd like, just gotten there. It's possible he made it here and back in the time that you two were on your date." Duncan said the word date bitterly, and a little sarcastically, as though he believed Logan and Veronica weren't really a couple.

"Fine. Whatever. PCHers." Veronica changed the subject.

"No way, man. That handwriting is way too neat to come from my boys. And I mean, they signed it "my sincerest apologies". Not exactly gang-talk." Weevil explained. Veronica nodded in agreement, as she hadn't even been truly considering the PCHers a possibility.

"Lynn Echolls." Veronica watched out of the corner of her eye as Logan winced when his mother's name was mentioned. She waited for an alibi, but received total silence.

"Don't cross her off." Logan whispered from his corner of the room. No one else was willing to discuss it further, so they let the whole thing slide.

"Clarence Weidman." Veronica asked.

"Oh, yeah. Like, suspect number one. Or two, I guess." Duncan exclaimed. He'd only changed him to suspect number two after everyone had shot him a look, reminding him of the Aaron Echolls situation.

"Trina Echolls." Veronica said.

"Honestly, I don't think Trina's a possibility. She can't even know about the pregnancy yet. Plus, I think she's in L.A. trying to book some sort of movie gig." Logan explained. Veronica nodded, and looked back over her list.

"Okay. So, suspects have been narrowed down to Aaron, Celeste, Jake, Lynn, or Clarence Weidman." Veronica informed the group. Lilly looked at Logan before opening her mouth to speak.

"Cross off Aaron and Lynn." She commanded. Everyone shot her a look of shock.

"Lilly…that's insane." Logan told her honestly. She sighed.

"It says in the note whoever it is wants to protect me from Aaron. Why would Aaron or Lynn want to protect me?" Lilly questioned the group.

"Lilly, the note also says this person is willing to kill you to keep that baby from being born. Would your mother or father be willing to go that far? Or be willing to hire someone to go that far?" Veronica reminded her gently. Lilly shrugged.

"Maybe they don't know about the note. Or maybe they're just exaggerating. I just don't think it's Aaron, at the least. And Lynn seems like a slim possibility." Lilly concluded. Veronica sighed, but crossed Aaron's name off her list, and put a question mark by Lynn's.

"Don't go investigating them either, Veronica. Client's orders." Lilly warned, and Weevil nodded in agreement.

"Fine, fine. I'll only go over there for pleasurable activities, no work involved." Veronica said, with a wink in Logan's direction. He grinned, and Lilly faked gagging.

"Go back to your date, before I puke up my dinner. I'm eating for two now, you know." Lilly told them. They laughed, and walked from the room, hand in hand.

"Coming, Duncan?" Veronica called.

"No. I'm gonna stay here for awhile, I'll have someone pick me up later." Duncan promised. Veronica shrugged, and Logan's grin grew wider. Only Weevil and Lilly seemed still concerned by the tone and threats of the note. And they hadn't even seen the second note, which was still waiting under Weevil's chair, it's threats and promises unseen by anyone but the person who'd written them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13:**_** A New Suspect**_

Logan drove towards the Neptune Grand, Veronica messing with the radio dial in the passenger seat.

"Will you please just pick a station?" Logan pleaded, after she changed it for the fourth time in the span of 10 minutes.

"I'm sorry. I'm very picky about my musical selections." Veronica defended herself, and Logan finally just pushed the power button, leaving them in complete silence.

"Where are we going?" Veronica finally asked, breaking the silence.

"My home away from home." Logan filled her in. Veronica took a short breath, and Logan looked at her curiously.

"There's probably something I should tell you, Logan." Veronica mumbled, nervous. She'd never had to have this conversation before. Duncan had never been alone with Veronica in a place with a bed for more than 15 minutes, hardly long enough for any suspicious activity to go on.

"What, my dear?" Logan asked, playing dumb. To be honest, he already knew what Veronica was going to say. Duncan had shared everything with Logan up until a few weeks ago, when his fling with Veronica had begun. They'd certainly been close enough for Duncan to share with his friend how far he'd made it with Miss Veronica Mars, one of the most desirable girls in their school.

"I haven't broken that pinky promise to my dad." Veronica decided to take the easy way out, making it so she didn't have to go full force and say the dreaded V-word.

"And you think just because we're going to a hotel room I'm going to force you to break that promise? Why on earth would I want you to lose that precious pinky? Or more importantly, why on earth would I want to lose my family jewels?" Logan asked, and Veronica laughed, relaxing a little. She supposed it had been rather childish of her to assume going to a hotel room meant sex, but honestly. Lilly had shared plenty with her about Logan, including the fact that he'd pressured her (okay, not so much pressured, but had willingly done it with her) and more than once. Veronica had been afraid of the expectations that came along with being Lilly Kane's successor.

When they arrived at the Grand, they climbed out of the car, giggling and holding hands, looking as though they'd been together for years rather than hours. Upon entering the Grand however, they saw someone that stopped both of them cold.

"Logan! I've missed you terribly! How have you been?" The woman came towards the two of them, smiling widely. She was older by a few years, and had chestnut colored hair, and was wearing a wide black hat.

"Trina. I thought you were in L.A., performing as "Screaming Prom Chaperon Number 4" or whatever in that crappy movie. Did they decide you were too terrible for them after all?" Logan sneered. Trina laughed lightly, letting the insult roll off her back.

"Well, I'm back in town silly! I've been here for a couple of days actually, but a friend of mine at Hearst was doing a little student film, so I stayed over there to perform." Trina explained. Veronica and Logan shot each other a look, realizing this meant Trina's alibi dissipated. She now was just as much of a suspect as before.

"Oh, I see. Well, has Mom told you?" Logan asked her, deciding to feel her out.

"Has Mom told me what? Are she and Dad getting "divorced" again? Because believe me, little brother, this is not the first time she's threatened. He'll buy her a pretty diamond something and it'll all blow over, easy as that." Trina drawled. Logan rolled his eyes, although Trina's statement was nothing but true.

"No, Trina. Dad slept with Lilly, and now she's pregnant." Logan informed her matter of factly. To Trina's credit, her mouth dropped open in shock, and she seemed 100% genuinely surprised.

"Logan, this better not be a joke. Because if it is, I will slap you right here in front of…why is she with you, holding your hand?" Trina had just noticed Veronica's presence, and she seemed just as surprised at this development as the other one.

"She's my girlfriend, Trina. That's the answer to both questions. And I would not joke about something as serious as this." Logan snapped, angry that someone else had joked about his relationship. People seemed to be having an extremely time believing that Veronica Mars had chosen him over Duncan Kane. It was too frustrating.

"Oh. Well, that's just great. Is Lilly keeping it?" Trina asked. Logan recognized the look in Trina's eyes too well, and aimed to curb her curiosity quickly.

"Yes, Trina. And don't go telling your friends at E!, because it might be this PCHer's. If it turns out to be his, and you told the press it was Aaron's you'd be s-c-r-e-w-e-d. And you know it." Logan warned her. Trina nodded, the light having faded from her eyes just slightly.

"Fine, fine. Between family, understandable. Well, you two have a nice night now." Trina said pleasantly, before wandering off towards the elevators. Logan shot Veronica a look, and Veronica shrugged, as though to say, "Let it go, it's not important." The two headed off towards the elevators themselves, lust filling their eyes as they waited to be taken up to Logan's room.

Back at the hospital room, Weevil and Duncan had both gone home, leaving Lilly on her own for the first time in hours. She rested peacefully, watching T.V. as nurses floated in and out of her room, checking on her vitals. They'd told her she'd be let out of the hospital tomorrow, the first good news she'd gotten in a while. Lilly had to make an appearance at school on Monday if she wanted to keep rumors from starting up.

Lilly looked around her room, and noticed something pale white blowing under the chair Eli had been sitting in. She looked at it curiously, before realizing it was a note. Her first thought was that it was a love letter from Eli, and she pushed the call button for the nurse eagerly.

"Honey? Are you okay? The button got pushed." The nurse walked in, checking on Lilly in her comforting Southern drawl.

"Um, I'm fine, thanks. I just saw a note under that chair, and was wondering if you could hand it to me. I think it might be a love letter from my boyfriend." Lilly explained. She always shared everything with everyone, having lost her shame at a young age.

"Oh, well isn't that just the sweetest thing. He must be so excited about this baby of yours." The nurse cried, and Lilly smiled in agreement. The nurse handed her the paper and left the room, wanting to allow Lilly some privacy. Lilly opened the note quickly, and read, her emotion turning from happiness to fear quickly.

_Dear Mr. Navarro,_

_It has been brought to my attention you are quite possibly the father of Lilly Kane's child. For your sake, I hope this is not the case. However, it would be in your best interest, as well as Lilly's, for you to come out into the open and claim this child as your own. I suggest it to keep the integrity of the Echolls family name, as well as to keep Lilly unharmed. Lilly's reputation will only be slightly harmed from a romantic link to yourself, and your stock would greatly increase! This claim of fatherhood would not be enough to convince me to let the child be born, but it would certainly keep Lilly safe, if you catch my drift._

_Sincerely Yours,_

_A Concerned Observer_

Bile filled Lilly's throat as she read the note. She quickly tore it up, wanting to keep it from Eli's attention. It was a threat to her child again, as well as an attempt to force Eli into the spotlight, and Aaron out of it. She found herself hating the writer of this note and the other one more strongly than she hated Aaron, and she was glad she could be sure of Aaron's innocence when it came to this, as she was positive if Aaron Echolls was behind these threatening letters, she would make sure he died long before her baby did.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14: **_**Confusion**_

Veronica drove towards Logan's actual house, Logan in tow.

"Veronica, I really don't think it's a good idea to go over here…" Logan started to argue, but Veronica waved her hand in an effort to shut him up.

"We're going Logan. Your parents are at that Gala dinner, and won't be back for hours. We're going." Veronica kept her eyes on the road, her voice telling Logan there was no room for protest.

"But why? Didn't Lilly and your Dad tell you not to?" Logan tried again. Veronica sighed.

"My dad said not to unless you or Duncan or Weevil was with me. You are with me, so that excuse is a no go. And this is for Lilly's own good." Veronica reminded him, and Logan turned to face this window, finally having accepted that there was no fighting Veronica on this one.

She pulled into the driveway, and parked. They both climbed out of the car, and headed towards the front door. It was, unsurprisingly, locked. Logan suddenly began to grin, and Veronica frowned at him.

"Ronnie, I don't have a key. Looks like this is a no go." Logan gloated, and Veronica smirked back at him. She walked around to the side of the house, and Logan heard a loud creak. He followed her, and saw her opening the pool gate.

"That's great, Veronica, now we can either go swimming or go in the pool house." Logan snapped, angry at her persistence. He wished she would let it go, but then again, she wouldn't be his Veronica if she gave up easily.

"You think your parents are planning the murder of an unborn child in the guest room? Please. The pool house will have everything we need and want." Veronica explained, and Logan sighed, following her to the pool house.

She opened the door with ease, and took in the room in front of her. It had a bed and a dresser, which opened up to reveal a television screen.

"You really need a bed in here?" Veronica asked sarcastically. Logan laughed.

"You think Aaron was bringing his conquests into the master bedroom? Please." Logan parroted Veronica from earlier. Veronica shot him a look before heading over to the bed.

"Planning on get busy?" Logan asked, when Veronica lay down on top of the bed. She smirked at him, and he laughed.

"Look…what the hell is that wire connected to?" Veronica wondered aloud, and she stood up on top of the bed to grab it. She pulled it, and followed the black line all the way back to the television screen.

"It looks like whatever it is, it's down in that drawer." Logan pointed out, and Veronica gave him a look that told him she'd figured that out, thanks. She pulled open the drawer, revealing something that connected to the television. She turned it on, and realized it was a security system, with a camera that connected to the bed, as the scene before her showed up on the television screen.

"Looks like Aaron aspired to break into the pornography business." Veronica commented when she played the first tape in the drawer. Logan came to stand behind her, watching the scene before him.

"Is that…?" Veronica nodded her head before he could finish. The girl rolling around with Aaron on the bed was clearly Lilly.

"It seems we've just found plenty of proof to take to the press when we feel like it." Veronica mentioned, and Logan nodded, still mesmerized by the image on the screen. It was disturbing, and yet hypnotizing, like watching the car smash into the pole. You knew it was wrong, and sad, but you couldn't stop.

"Hey…wait. What's this one?" Veronica asked, and Logan snapped out of his stupor to pay attention to what was on the screen. His mother was sitting at the table by the bedroom, writing something down. She seemed to be crying, and she suddenly looked up.

"_Please…don't make me do this. She's an innocent girl. There's no reason…_" Lynn Echolls stopped talking, as a hand covered by a black glove slapped her across the face.

"_Just keep writing."_ The voice commanded. The voice had clearly been tampered with, so as to keep it from being recognizable. On screen, Lynn finished, and folded the note. Veronica listened as the stranger read the note aloud, and she immediately recognized it as the threat letter left in Lilly's hospital room.

"_Now the other one."_ The voice instructed, and Lynn began to write again, tears streaming down her face. She wrote quickly, and handed the second note over to whoever was controlling her. The voice read aloud the other note. Logan and Veronica looked to each other as they heard the threats written to Eli.

"We never…" Logan started, but Veronica shushed him.

"_Don't tell anyone about this. You know nothing. As far as your concerned, Lilly Kane is pregnant with the child of Eli Navarro. Don't forget that Lynn. Or you may find the Lilly/Aaron sex tapes make it to the media and your husband will land in jail."_ Veronica heard footsteps on the tape as someone walked away from the room. Suddenly, Lynn stood, and shouted to the stranger.

"_You don't have to do this! Everything would've worked out! Nothing would've happened…"_ Lynn was about to shout out the name of the person when the tape ran out.

"No, no, no!" Veronica yelled, searching desperately for the next tape in the mix, but someone had taken it out of the drawer.

"Someone stole that second tape! The tape with the name we need on it!" Veronica cried out in frustration. Logan grabbed her shoulder and pulled her into a close embrace.

"How are we supposed to figure it out now, Logan? Lilly's in trouble, and someone stole that tape!" Veronica wailed, as she finally broke down. She'd been fighting so hard to be strong throughout this whole incident, but Veronica should've known she couldn't keep up the charade forever.

"It'll be okay, Veronica. We'll figure it out. You're the super sleuth, remember? Velma on _Scooby Doo,_ but way hotter!" Logan comforted. Veronica managed to laugh, even though Logan's words offered her little comfort. She knew he was trying his best, and that was what counted.

"What was with that Eli note? Lilly and Weevil didn't say anything about that. And I'm sure Weevil would've been even more pissed off about that." Logan tried to change the subject, to take Veronica's mind off of her frustration at what was going on.

"Maybe they never saw it. It's possible it fell on the floor, and someone picked it up and threw it away, thinking it was garbage." Veronica supposed this was the only logical possibility. It seemed unlikely the person behind this would've grown a conscience and decided not to threaten Weevil along with Lilly.

"Don't worry about it, Mars. Whoever this is, they're going down. My mom knows. We'll get her to tell us. Don't worry." Logan rubbed her back, trying to seem brave, although in reality, he was terrified by the fact that his mother was involved with this person, this person who was willing to kill a child in order to protect whatever they were trying to protect.


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15: **_**Helpless**_

Veronica quickly filled in Lilly on their discovery, hoping to get more information from Lilly. Not about what was going on with the murderer, but on how she was feeling. Lilly was sarcastic and moody, a result of stress and painkillers. She seemed unsurprised at the news of a Weevil note, making Veronica suspect she had discarded it without telling anyone, in an attempt to protect Weevil.

"Yeah, Logan and I are still at his house. We're hoping to set up a few bugs, but I have to wait for my dad to drop them off…and maybe Lynn will get home before Aaron. It's unlikely, but we're pretty hopeful." Veronica promised Lilly, trying to keep her calm.

"Alright Veronica. Don't get killed. And don't have sex either. The last thing we need is you getting pregnant by an Echolls too." Lilly warned her, completely serious, although Veronica laughed.

"At least the good one would be knocking me up." Veronica retorted. Logan grinned at her when he heard this, and Veronica smiled back. Lilly snorted and said goodbye, that she couldn't take anymore of this lovey-dovey crap talk. Veronica hung up and turned to face Logan.

"When do you think your parents will be home?" Veronica asked, a little nervous. The last thing she needed right now was Aaron getting home before her dad got their with the phone bugs.

"Not for a few hours. It's only 8:45, they'd get home at 12:30 on a good night." Logan comforted, trying to calm Veronica down. Veronica shot him a worried glance, and he wondered why, when she opened her mouth.

"You mean you'd be home alone as a kid until 12:30?" Veronica repeated, her voice a tone above hysterical. Logan rubbed her shoulder, trying to get her to calm down.

"Veronica, it wasn't a big deal. When I was really little there was a babysitter, and Trina was there when I was not so little, until I was big enough to take care of myself. And I turned out okay!" Logan joked, although things were not as simple as he made them out to be. But Logan hated telling people about his father abusing him, and he didn't want Veronica thinking he was as damaged as he was. She deserved more than him, that much he was sure of. The good news for him was that she hadn't seemed to have figured that part out.

"Wait…I hear someone." Veronica hushed him, and listened closely. Her cell phone buzzed loudly on the patio table, making both of them jump. She looked and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw who it was.

"Hi Dad. Out back, by the pool. I'll come grab it…" She started, but Logan shook his head furiously and pointed to himself. Veronica shot him her "I'm not going to get jumped in the 50 feet it takes to walk to your gate" look, but Logan continued to shake his head, and Veronica finally huffed out her consent.

"Dad? Logan is coming. Apparently he is under the impression I'm much too desirable by rapists and axe murderers. Weird, huh?" Veronica snorted, and Logan shot her a look of his own.

"I don't think it's weird, I think it's smart, Veronica. Logan is right to be worried. Lilly has dug herself in deep this time from the sounds of it, and I'm already upset you've gotten yourself in deep enough." Keith lectured, and Veronica rolled her eyes.

"Just tell me when you see Logan." Veronica managed, and it was Keith's turn to laugh.

"Worried about axe murderers, honey?" He chuckled, and Veronica snarled quietly.

"He's a handsome young man, Dad. I can totally see Angelina Jolie driving up and kidnapping him to take as the new Brad. Next thing you know, he'd have 8 kids and would be making semi-sucky films. It's a scary future." Veronica snapped back. She heard the car door open on the other end, and her dad and Logan talking. She managed to pick up the phrase "pinky promise" make it's way into the conversation, making her growl into the phone. Her dad laughed again.

"Okay sweetheart. Logan has the bugs. He'll be back to you in a minute." Keith assured, as she heard the engine pick up and gravel crunching beneath the tires.

"Bye dad! Thanks!" Veronica said gratefully. She hung up as Logan's shadow emerged by the gate. She stood to give him a welcome hug, and suddenly, she had been back up against a wall.

"Veronica. Here again, I see. Didn't I tell my son to stay the hell away from this house?" Aaron Echolls breathed into her ear. Veronica struggled to escape his grasp, but he tightened it with each kick and attempted punch. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Logan appear, and watched as he assessed the situation before him as quickly as possible. He stood, frozen, and she prayed he would stay there. The last thing she wanted was for Aaron to turn on Logan.

"Veronica, I only have one thing to say to you. Whatever is going on with Lilly Kane, you need to keep me out of it. I don't care what she says, that kid isn't mine. And if you're looking for proof we had sex, you won't find any. I'm smarter than that." Aaron's eyes were cold and threatening, and Veronica was desperately praying to make it out of this alive, with all of her body parts in tact. Aaron loosened his grip, and she slid down the wall, into a sitting position. Aaron smiled icily, and walked away, into the house.

"Veronica!" Logan finally seemed able to snap into action, and he ran to her, dropping the bag full of her dad's spy equipment. He rushed next to her, landing on his knees beside her.

"I'm so sorry Veronica, I froze, I didn't know what to do. Oh, God, Veronica, are you alright? I'm so sorry." Logan was talking a mile a minute, and he seemed to be unable to breathe. Veronica started to speak, but he had pulled her into his arms, knocking the breath out her all over again.

"Veronica? Don't you ever, ever scare me like that again. You don't come near my father ever again." Logan declared, as he nearly crushed Veronica in his hug. She nodded against his chest, still frightened from her encounter with Aaron Echolls. He'd seemed 100% capable of murder in that moment. Suddenly, Logan was furiously kissing her, and it was unlike any kiss they'd had before. It was desperate and intense, and filled to the brim with passion. It terrified Veronica, and it filled Logan with a feeling as close to love as could be possible, seeing as they'd only been together for 2 days. They'd been a secret for weeks, but that had been different, less serious than this.

"We'll bug the phones a different day. Lilly can wait one more day." Logan said as he pulled away from Veronica. She leaned in, craving more, and he cracked a tiny smile at the expression on her face.

"C'mon Veronica. We need to get out of here, before he comes back outside. Because if I see him again, I swear to God, I'll kill him." Logan swung her into his arms, and carried her away from the house, picking up the bag on the way. He refused to let her down, afraid to lose this new found feeling. Logan was determined to make this romance with Veronica Mars last as long as possible, and if that meant keeping her away from his broken family, it was a price he was more than willing to pay. Lilly's pregnancy and the threats took a backseat to Veronica now, of that he was sure.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16: **_**Spy Work**_

A few weeks had passed since the confrontation with Aaron, and Veronica was still having nightmares. She woke up, sweating horribly each night, picturing Aaron's terrifying grin as Logan stood, helplessly watching her be tortured. Keith would run in, hearing her scream, and would shake her gently until she awoke.

Veronica never told him about the nightmares, as she didn't want to tell him what had transpired with Aaron. Keith didn't even know Aaron Echolls was a possible father to Lilly's child, and Veronica planned on keeping it that way as long as possible.

At school, things were almost the same as before. People had been unsurprised at Logan and Lilly's break-up, as the two of them had been off and on since the 6th grade. Lilly's new choice in boyfriend however, was discussed heavily. On her first day back, when she'd strode in defiantly clutching Weevil's hand, Madison Sinclair had walked up and asked if Lilly was playing a sick joke, all the while staring disgusted at Eli. Lilly had smiled sweetly at Madison and then proceeded to pull Weevil into a deep kiss. Madison's face screwed up into a grimace, and she stormed away angrily. Lilly only laughed as Veronica stuck her tongue out at Madison's back in a childish gesture.

Logan and Veronica were also a frequently discussed matter at Neptune High. No one had seen Duncan and Veronica's break-up on the horizon, and they were shocked when Logan and Veronica walked into school smiling and holding hands. Dick Casablancas had walked up to Veronica and asked if she was doing both Duncan and Logan. Before Veronica could formulate a sarcastic response, Logan had decked Dick, and Dick had stumbled away, clutching his bleeding nose. After that, people were less inclined to ask Veronica about the situation.

As Veronica readied herself for school nearly 3 weeks after Lilly's hospital stay, she smiled when she heard the knock at the door. She raced to open it, and was surprised to find no one there.

"Hello?" She called out nervously, peeking out the door. It seemed that whoever it was had left, and she sighed. She stepped inside to grab her back-pack, and locked the door behind her. She turned to head towards the stairs, and was instantly grabbed around the waist.

"Ah!" She cried out, and she jammed her elbow into the stranger's abdomen. The man stumbled backwards, and Veronica turned to face him, taser in hand.

"It's….just….me. Remind me….not…to sneak…up on you." Logan wheezed, trying to catch his breath. Veronica raced over to him, dropping her bag and wrapping her arms around him. Logan smiled at her, wincing slightly as she pushed against the tender spot.

"I'm so sorry, Logan. I had no idea it was you…I thought it was…" Veronica trailed off, not wanting to tell Logan she'd thought the person who'd grabbed her was Logan's father.

"Yeah, yeah. That's what every girl who elbows me in the stomach says." Logan managed to say a full sentence, finally catching his breath. He wrapped his own arms around Veronica, and leaned down to kiss her, and both of them were so wrapped up in each other, they didn't hear Veronica's door open.

"Can you two please save it for after I leave the house?" Keith begged, shaking his head at the couple outside his door. Logan and Veronica separated quickly, keeping their hands intertwined.

"Sorry, sir. Didn't know you were still here." Logan apologized, but Keith saw in his eyes that Logan wasn't sorry at all. Keith stared for a second into Logan's eyes, not believing the emotion he saw. There was certainly humor, but behind that was a strong affection. Keith would even dare to call it love.

"Dad? Why are you staring at Logan?" Veronica asked, waving her hand in front Keith's eyes. Keith snapped back to reality, and smiled down at his daughter.

"I'll tell you when you're older." Keith assured her, and Logan stood, pretending to be oblivious to why Keith had zoned out. He knew the older man had seen his true feelings for Veronica in his eyes. It was a look anyone who'd been in love would recognize in an instance.

"Whatever you say, Pops. Have a nice day catching criminals." Veronica hugged her father goodbye as they reached the parking lot. Keith nodded absently, still shaking his head in disbelief.

"I wonder what that was about." Veronica mentioned as she climbed into Logan's car. Logan shrugged.

"Hell if I know." He commented, still playing dumb.

"Hey, do you mind if we go to your house after school? I want to get those bugs in while your dad is on set and your mom is at her weekly massage." Veronica explained, and Logan stared incredulously at her.

"Were you stalking us?" Logan asked. Veronica rolled her eyes at him.

"I'm a super sleuth, remember? I've been watching for a time we could bug the house." Veronica defended herself, and Logan leaned over for a short kiss.

"Whatever. You could just admit you waited in the bushes to see me shirtless." He laughed when Veronica turned slightly pink.

"I'd hate to inflate your ego." Veronica retorted. Logan laughed again.

"By the way, I'll bug the house myself, thanks. You may be a super spy, but I can handle this mission on my own." Logan informed Veronica.

"Hell to the no. This is my mission as much as it's yours! Lilly is my best friend!" Veronica cried, outraged at the fact that Logan intended to do this on his own.

"And you're my girlfriend! I can't risk Aaron coming home while your bugging our phones? Or don't you remember the last time?" Logan hated to bring it up, as he knew Veronica was still haunted by it, but it was his only ammunition against her.

"You won't let him get to me again." Veronica tried to salvage what she had of her former argument. Logan looked at her, his eyes softening.

"Fine. You can come and wait in the car." Logan allowed, and Veronica shook her head determinedly.

"What if he tries to hurt you?" She started. Logan smiled at her.

"And what are you gonna do, Tinkerbelle?" Logan snickered, and Veronica smacked him on the shoulder.

"I may be tiny in stature, but I've got 500 watts of power." Veronica patted her purse, and Logan shuddered slightly at the knowledge of the weapon she'd almost used on him earlier that morning.

"Fine. But you don't get to leave my side." Logan commanded, and Veronica started to protest, but stopped when she saw the serious look in Logan's eyes.

"Deal." Veronica agreed, pouting only slightly.

As they pulled into school, and climbed out of the car, Logan took Veronica's small hand into his own. He walked her to her first class, and kissed her deeply.

"Veronica…I…" Logan started, and she turned her head to stare into his eyes. Logan lost his nerve, afraid she wouldn't tell him what he wanted to hear if he said the words that sat in his throat.

"I'll wait for you at lunch." Logan finished lamely. Veronica nodded, and when she smiled at him, Logan thought he might have seen the same thing Keith had seen in his own eyes for a split second. It comforted him as he walked towards his own class, his head filled with thoughts of the petite blonde girl that he was almost 100% sure he loved.


	17. Chapter 17

_A/N: I'm sorry this update has taken me sooo long. I've been struggling with major writer's block as well as working on another story, as well as being basically swamped outside of my fan fiction life. Anyways, hope you enjoy this next update, and I'll try to work on my timeliness! Reviews are highly welcomed._

_A/N: I'm very unknowledgeable about being pregnant and things that come with it. I've looked up certain facts, but other than that, I'm at a loss, so please ignore any blaring mistakes I make. This is going on around the beginning/middle of October, leading me to calculate Lilly's due date is around April, which is therefore what I'm going with. _

* * *

**Chapter 17: **_**Finishing the Job**_

Veronica marched out to Logan's car after school, both excited and nervous for their secret mission. Logan was nowhere to be seen, but Veronica had come to expect this, as he almost always had to talk to a teacher or administrator about some altercation that had taken place that day. What she was not expecting was to see Lilly standing by Logan's car clearly waiting for someone.

"Hey Lilly. Were you waiting for Logan?" Veronica asked, trying her best to keep the jealously from leaking into her voice. Lilly obviously saw right past her though.

"No, silly Ronnie. I was waiting for you!" Lilly laughed, and Veronica felt her shoulders lower as she relaxed.

"Oh, how…silly of me." Veronica replied lamely. She hated repeating Lilly's word choice, but it did seem the best descriptive word of her assumptions. She had to remember Lilly was happily dating Weevil now, and that she didn't have anyone to compete with for him.

"Anyways, as we near the passing of my third month, I find it is time for another doctor's check up. We are closing in on the 2nd trimester." Lilly whispered this news quietly, as no one besides Duncan, Logan, Veronica, Weevil and herself knew about her pregnancy, and she intended on keeping it that way for a while.

"This is true. Would you like me to come with you?" Veronica filled in the blanks in Lilly's statement.

"If you wouldn't mind. I won't find out the gender or anything, it's still too early. I'm only on my 12th week, anyways. You can't do a gender ultrasound till about 18-22 weeks, so we've got a ways to go." Lilly explained, and Veronica look around quickly to make sure there were no eavesdroppers.

"Sounds good. When is it?" Veronica asked, turning to see if Logan was nearby. She could make out his silhouette about 30 feet away, and figured Lilly had just enough time to fill her in on dates before she and Logan went speeding off on their spy mission.

"Saturday. That's in 2 days. Okay?" Lilly reminded Veronica, as she saw Logan approaching.

"Don't worry, I won't forget." Veronica assured her as Logan walked up next to Veronica.

"If it isn't my two lovely lady friends. Shouldn't you be off buying a crib or some diapers there, Angelina?" Logan said to Lilly, who smirked at him. Logan had recently taken to calling Lilly Angelina, as he found it an effective way to annoy her. The reference to having many babies was lost on Duncan, but not Veronica or Lilly.

"Shut the hell up, Ben." Lilly shot back. She had taken to calling him Ben Affleck, in reference to him leaving the fabulous Lilly (Jennifer Lopez in her scenario) for sweeter Veronica (Jennifer Garner).

"Well, I'd love to stay and chat, but Miss Veronica and I could be having way more fun elsewhere." Logan smiled at Veronica before full out grinning at Lilly. She sneered at him.

"Wear a condom, kids. Don't want to have a Juno situation around here." Lilly giggled, strutting away from the car in her signature walk.

"You think she'll be able to do that when she's huge in a few months?" Logan asked, watching Lilly walk away.

"If anyone could find a way, it sure is Lilly Kane." Veronica reminded him, her eyes also focused on Lilly.

"Anyways, off to the massive mansion of Mr. Aaron Echolls, maker of the world's crappiest action films. Are you sure you can handle to excitement?" Logan joked, trying to make Veronica more comfortable. She smiled widely at him.

"I can totally handle it. I just might steal a used tissue or something, make a couple hundred of E-Bay. You know." She giggled, and Logan smiled at her.

They pulled into the driveway, and Logan parked the car. His joking manner had faded quickly as they arrived at the house.

"I can still do this by myself. You can chicken out. I won't tell anyone big bad Veronica was scared of a drunk, angry actor twice her size who knocked up her best friend." Logan told her, and Veronica looked at him, sizing up his mood.

"Weevil knocked her up." Veronica replied, deciding she could go with a joke, as he didn't seem that angry at the moment.

"Very funny. You and I both know how true that statement may or may not be." Logan was still heavily doubting that Weevil had been the one to get Lilly pregnant, although there was no evidence for or against the contrary.

"Let's go. The sooner we get this over with, the sooner we can go home." Veronica climbed out the car, bugs in hand. Logan followed still looking doubtful at the mission at hand.

"You should stop worrying." Veronica told him, as she entered the house through the front door, which was unlocked, as it was the day the maids came by to clean up.

The mission quite honestly went by ridiculously quickly, as Veronica moved swiftly through the house bugging each phone, except for Logan's private phone.

"I've missed this room." Logan confessed as Veronica passed it on the way to the master bedroom.

"As soon as we catch Aaron, you can move back here. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and help me." Veronica told him, and he did as he was told.

She had just finished putting the last bug on that phone when she remembered something.

"We should grab the sex tapes. So Aaron doesn't destroy them. It'll only take a second." Veronica promised as she saw the look on Logan's face. He obliged her, following her out to the pool house, quickly checking to make sure his mother or father hadn't arrived home early.

Veronica walked over to the drawer and was just opening it to grab the tapes when Logan heard the crunch of gravel outside.

"Get under the bed." He commanded, as he realized the car was intending to go into the pool house, not the main house." Veronica started to argue, but he quickly pushed her under and climbed under there with her. The drawer with the tapes remained open, but Logan knew it was too late to fix that mistake.

"Can't believe you were this stupid…if they'd gotten a hold of those tapes, it would've been a disaster." They heard a voice trailing in from the outside as someone entered the pool house. Logan could see two pairs of feet from under the bed, and he prayed they would come and go quickly. Veronica's face was screwed up as she tried to place the voice. She knew she recognized it, but she couldn't figure out who it was.

"I'm sorry, it was an honest mistake. You already took care of that tape with your name on it, I thought…" Logan's fists clenched as he heard his father trying to defend himself.

"Why is this drawer open?" The second voice asked, anger shaking within the tone.

"One of the maids, probably. A mistake." Aaron repeated that word, and Logan recognized he was looking to be forgiven for his past oversight.

"Well, the tapes are still here…did you hear that?" The voice asked, and Logan watched as the feet spun around. Veronica had accidentally brushed his thigh, and Logan had involuntarily gasped at the contact. She looked at him, her face apologetic, as the feet neared the bed.

"No." Aaron also turned, trying to figure out what was going on.

"Someone is in here." The voice told him, walking around the room. They opened up the closet, and the bathroom, but found no one.

"Can anyone fit under the bed?" They asked, and Logan prayed Aaron would be too stupid to realize it was bigger under here than it looked.

"Only someone tiny." He replied, shrugging. The other person's face lit up in recognition, and they bent down to look under the bed, smiling as they saw Logan curled up with Veronica.

"Well, well, well, what have we here?" They asked, smiling, and Veronica was pulled out from under the bed. When she saw who the mastermind behind it all was, her face contorted in disbelief and shock.

"It was…you?" Logan asked, crawling out from under. His face was also disbelieving, and the person they'd been trying to catch smiled widely.

"Surprised, aren't you? Well, now you're going to help me." They said, pulling Veronica out of the room as Aaron followed behind with Logan.

* * *

_A/N: Dun, dun, dun! I promise you will discover all in the next chapter. Only about 2 or 3 chapters left, and then an epilogue, and the curtain will fall! Hope you've enjoyed! _


	18. Chapter 18

_A/N: Ah, my friends, the end draws near. One more real chapter, an epilogue, and it will all be over. I hope you've enjoyed this ride as much as I have. And now, let's reveal the villian behind it all!_

**Chapter 18: **_**Secrets Revealed**_

"What were you saying back in the hospital room about impossible?" Veronica whispered to Logan. They were tied up side by side in chairs. In all honesty, the situation was less scary than it should've been. Something about being trapped in Logan's family dining room really detracted from the intensity of the situation.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. So sue me." Logan replied, grimacing at her.

"Will you two shut up?" Aaron yelled from the other room. He was going through the tapes to see which ones revealed him and Lilly Kane, so that those that did could be destroyed.

"Sure Pops. How's it going in there, watching all your messed up sexual encounters?" Logan yelled back. They heard a chair screech across the tile floor, and Aaron stormed into the room, his face purple.

"Stop!" The real perpetrator had returned, and she clutched at Aaron's arm to keep him from attacking Logan.

"Why?" Aaron hissed back, looking down at the girl holding him back. She smiled at him.

"There'll be plenty of time for that after they complete their mission." Trina replied, and Veronica looked at her coldly.

"Why would we help you, Trina? We care about Lilly." Veronica informed her, right before Trina slapped her across the face. Logan cried out the second Trina's hand reached Veronica's face, and on Veronica's cheek, a red hand print rose, and Veronica held back tears at the sting.

"Because. I wasn't kidding when I said I'd kill Lilly Kane. If you help me, that won't be necessary." Trina explained, and Veronica shook her head fiercely.

"I won't kill Lilly's baby." Veronica insisted, although her resolve was fading. Trina seemed more than ready, and more than willing to kill to keep whatever it was she was trying to keep.

"That's probably true. And I won't kill my own brother as leverage…so really, Veronica, you're sort of off the hook." Trina replied, circling her chair. Veronica turned her head, and look at Trina in shock.

"Then let us go." Veronica managed to say, knowing it was too easy, that surely Trina had thought of this catch long before now.

"Oh, no. You see, you won't kill Lilly's baby, out of some misguided loyalty to the girl. But, Logan, well, I could tell from when I saw you in the hotel lobby, he'd do anything for you. He'd do anything, to keep you alive, Veronica. And I have a strong feeling that includes killing his ex-girlfriend's baby." Trina smiled at Logan, who began struggling against his confides as she looked from him to Veronica.

"Trina, don't you dare! Don't touch a hair on her head, or I swear to God…" Logan screamed, thrashing wildly. Aaron looked Trina, as though asking with his eyes if he should hit Logan now. Trina subtly shook her head.

"Well, I won't need to as long as you kill Lilly's baby." Trina reminded him, and Logan stopped thrashing to look at Trina in the eyes.

"Why do you even care, Trina? So what if Dad has a love child with a sixteen year old? It'll get you more press, not less." Logan pleaded with her, trying to make her see reason. But Trina was smarter than to fall for Logan's pleads.

"Oh, sure, it will. For a few months. Than Dad'll get locked up for statutory rape. A few more months of press. And then do you know who will be getting all the press? Lilly, and that damn baby. It'll never end for them, whereas you and I will fade into the shadows." Trina explained, and Veronica feared the iciness of her voice.

"You…and I would be fine. Dad's estate would go to us." Logan was fighting to come up with logical arguments against the crazy need for attention that was going in Trina's head.

"No. I'm adopted, Logan. It would go to you, and Lilly's baby. Aaron Echolls's _biological_ children. I'd be an after thought, an oh yeah, he adopted that one kid." Trina's eyes were watering up, and Logan realized in her head, she was doing something justifiable.

"You don't even know that it's Aaron's baby." Veronica threw in, earning her a glare from Trina, and a hopeful glance from Aaron.

"That's not a risk I'm willing to take." Trina replied coldly, wiping the tears from her eyes. She looked at Logan and Veronica and shook her head, fighting to get back her cold demeanor from before.

"How did you even find out? Or get here so quickly?" Logan asked. It was the one part of the story he couldn't catch on to.

"Mom called. She heard Lilly and Aaron screaming at each other that night you all went over to the Kane's for dinner. Celeste and Jake tried to ignore it, but Mom listened to every word. She heard Lilly was pregnant, and that Lilly thought the baby might be Aaron's. She called from the house. I told her to run out, grab something from the drug store. It was a little secret a friend of mine had told me, after she'd gotten pregnant right before a role in one of the Harry Potter movies. I figured we could get rid of the baby, and things would be fine. I was already done in L.A., and I rushed back to help Mom. I snuck into Lilly's house, poured it into her special whatever drink and voila, problem solved. Until my friend told me I'd used too little. So Lilly and the baby would be fine." Trina finished, sounding angry. Logan shot Veronica a look, saying how crazy Trina was. Veronica nodded.

"I came back, and hoped to scare Lilly into an abortion. Dad went over to the hospital without consulting me, and came back spinning a story about it was possible that Weevil kid was the parent. Helpful, but not a guaranteed fix, until we could get a paternity test, which was way too risky. And now you two are here, and you can help me clean up Aaron's mess." Trina smiled, and Veronica started shaking her head. Trina slapped her again.

"I won't hurt Lilly, Trina." Logan stated, trying to sound confident. Trina shook her head gently, smiling sympathetically at him.

"You would to save Veronica, wouldn't you?" Trina asked sweetly, pulling on Veronica's hair so she was forced to look at Logan. Tears were in Veronica's eyes, and Logan felt his heart beat faster.

"Yes. Tell me what I have to do." Logan hung his head in shame, not wanting to look at Veronica. Trina dropped Veronica's head, and it snapped down.

"Just slip Lilly some of that magic medicine. She won't even have to know it was you." Trina handed him a vial of something powdery. Logan refused to look at it at all.

"Of course, I'll be watching closely to make sure you do as I say. And Veronica will be with me the whole time." Trina reminded him, not wanting him to forget why he was doing this.

Logan finally looked at Veronica, mouthing the words I'm sorry to her. She turned her head slightly, and he could tell she was thinking deeply. She turned back to look at him, and he was shocked when she mouthed back I love you. He stared at her intently, and realized she was being truthful. He mouthed back the same words, and all he could think of was how much he wished they'd said those words somewhere more magical and romantic.

Trina roughly untied and forced Veronica up, keeping a manicured claw on her arm at all times. Logan and Aaron followed closely behind, and Logan prayed continuously inside his head that someone would save him from what he was about to do.

_A/N: Surprised? Or did you know all along? I love hearing your thoughts!_


	19. Chapter 19

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A/N: I'm sorry about the wait on this one. I was having trouble ironing out the kinks, and having trouble figuring out where to go. This is the last official chapter, there will be an epilogue following though. I hope you enjoy!

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**Chapter 19: **_**Down to the Wire**_

Veronica sat in the backseat of the car, trying desperately to hold back the tears that hung at the edge of her eyes, fighting to escape. In all her spying for her dad and following criminals and adulterers, in all her hanging out with gang members and policemen, Veronica had never been this frightened. She didn't think Logan could manage to kill Lilly's baby, and she didn't want him to. But the cost of that decision would be her life, and if Veronica knew Logan, she knew he would rather Lilly was hurt than Veronica.

Logan was sitting in the front seat, and Veronica couldn't see his eyes. She willed him to turn to look at her, but he kept his eyes focused on the road in front of him. She considered the phone in her front pocket, but knew Trina would block her from being able to contact Keith.

Logan was texting. Aaron was too busy focusing on the road to pay attention to the boy next to him. Veronica couldn't see it from her vantage point, but he was sending messages to Duncan, Lilly, Weevil, and his own mother. Trina was painting her nails (the smell was truly nauseating, Logan was afraid he would blow any minute now).

The message to Duncan told Duncan to get out of the house now. Logan warned him what was coming, and ordered him to find a way to remove his parents and himself. He wanted it to be only Lilly and himself. No one else attempting to interfere with what was about to happen. To Lilly, he explained that he'd be there soon, he needed to talk with her. And to Weevil, he requested Weevil roll by with the boys in about 20 minutes. It would take an entire gang to save Veronica when all hell broke loose. The message to Lynn Echolls wasn't one he cared to discuss, but he knew his mother loved him, and would forgive him for what was about to happen.

They pulled into the Kane driveway, just to see Jake and Celeste driving away with Duncan in the back seat. Jake waved to Aaron, and Aaron gave a curt nod, not wanting to get too friendly. After all, they were there to dispose of Jake Kane's grandchild. It would destroy the friendship in a heartbeat.

"Wow, luck seems to be on our side. It'll just be you and Lilly, Logan. Now, do you have the vial?" Trina declared, a grin wide enough to show all her teeth on her face. Logan only nodded, not wanting to look Trina in the eye.

"Let me see it. I don't want you going in there and pretending you forgot it at the house." Trina warned, holding her newly painted claws out. Logan slipped the vial out of his pocket and showed it to Trina, his eyes challenging her to find fault. She couldn't and she settled back into the seat calmly.

"Okay. Go for it. Oh, and so you don't think I'm playing you…" Trina whipped a gun out of her purse, and yanked Veronica over so that the gun was pressed to Veronica's cheek. It was all Veronica could handle, and the tears flowed down her cheeks.

"Trina! I know you're serious, now put the gun down." Logan yelled, reaching to pull it from his sister. Trina cocked the gun, and tilted her head, a triumphant smile on her lips. Logan slammed the door open and threw it shut, and the car shook on the impact. He strode quickly to the door, ringing the doorbell incessantly.

"Logan, what is your deal? Jesus Christ." Lilly swung the door open, a lollipop in her hands.

"Let me in, Lilly." Logan demanded, not in the mood for Lilly's games.

"Seriously, Logan, if you came here to like, yell at me or whatever, go home. Where's your car anyways?" Lilly asked, peeking around him.

"My dad drove me. I don't have a lot of time Lilly, let me in." Logan pushed Lilly gently into the hall, finally making it into the house.

"Logan…is everything okay?" Lilly asked, locking the door behind her.

"No, Lilly, everything is not okay. Trina is in the car holding a gun to Veronica's head. My sister is apparently as mentally screwed up as my father, and has blackmailed me into killing your baby." Logan shouted, cupping his head in his hands. Lilly stood, looking at him, her mouth wide open in shock.

"It's Trina? Trina? You're serious?" Lilly started shaking her head, her long blonde hair flipping with it.

"Yes. Here's what I'm supposed to kill your baby with." Logan took out the vial and showed her. Lilly looked at him, her eyes filling with tears.

"She'll kill Veronica if you don't?" Lilly confirmed, tears beginning to spill down her cheeks. Logan nodded seriously.

"Okay, then do it." Lilly replied defiantly. Logan began shaking his head.

"That kid deserves to live Lilly. I won't do it." Logan informed her. Lilly shook her head more fiercely.

"I won't let Veronica die for my bastard kid. I can have more, ones that are for sure Eli's. Please Logan, Veronica doesn't have to die. We can fix this." Lilly's breath was ragged, her voice cracking with each word. Anyone could see she wanted nothing more than to hold this baby, but she was willing to sacrifice her child for her best friend.

"I've made my choice, Lilly." Logan told her seriously, before throwing the glass vial to the floor, and watching it as it shattered. Lilly broke out into bone chilling sobs, collapsing on her knees to the ground. Logan looked at her, and then turned to the door, where someone was pounding on it.

"I thought so." Logan said, conversationally, leaving Lilly lying on the floor as he answered. Aaron Echolls stood, with Trina and Veronica standing closely behind him. He threw his fist forward, and it collided with Logan's nose, and even Veronica heard the crunch. Logan stumbled back, holding his nose, which had blood pouring out of it.

"You asshole. I can't believe you didn't do it." Trina sighed as she entered the house, pulling Veronica with her.

"You bugged me." Logan replied, his voice filled with defiance, even as he held his broken nose.

"Of course. I wanted to hear what you said. I'm not pleased." Trina shook her head, as though she was truly disappointed in Logan.

"You also didn't load the gun. You were playing me." Logan laughed, proud to have figured Trina's plan out.

"Very good, young one. But you didn't expect this…" Trina pulled a butcher knife out of the kitchen drawer and held it to Veronica's neck. Logan lunged forward, but Aaron grabbed his collar and yanked him to stand by his father.

Before anything more could happen, the door slammed open again, revealing Eli and his gang, along with Lynn Echolls, who was dialing 911 as quickly as she could.

"Shit…" Trina cried out, before moving the knife and pressing it to Veronica's chest. She pushed, and Veronica screamed in pain. Logan was struggling against his father as much as possible. Eli rushed forward to hold Lilly, while his gang ran to Trina and pulled her from Veronica. The knife clattered to the floor, and Trina was suddenly in the hands of the boys. She was laughing manically and Lynn was telling the dispatcher to send an ambulance and the police. She hung up, and walked over to Aaron, who dropped Logan's collar, and adopted a sheepish attitude.

"Lynn, I had no idea what Trina was doing. I came here to protect Veronica-" Before he could finish his crappy explanation, Lynn slapped him hard across the cheek. The handprint rose immediately, and Aaron was cringing from the sting.

"The divorce attorney will call you in the morning." Lynn stated, turning to look at her son. He was holding Veronica in his arms. Her shirt was covered in blood, and Lynn didn't know if it was Logan's or Veronica's.

"You'll be okay Ronnie, you'll be okay. Everything's okay, Lilly and the baby are fine, I'm here, you'll be okay." Logan kept repeating this over and over, almost like a prayer. Lynn kneeled close to her son, her hand brushing his shoulder. He was shaking in sobs, and Veronica was smiling weakly.

"You…didn't…tell me….you bastard." She managed, and Logan choked out a laugh.

"You might've opened your big mouth and ruined it all." He told her honestly. She laughed weakly, before shutting her eyes for a minute.

"Veronica? Veronica, don't you dare, don't you dare, open your eyes." Logan commanded, and she obliged quickly.

"The…baby…" Veronica questioned. Logan nodded, reading her thoughts.

"Fine. You and I will be godparents." Logan answered, looking over at Lilly, who was still crying. She smiled and nodded with Eli.

"The ambulance is here. And so is Keith. He's frantic." Lynn informed him. Logan nodded, and lifted Veronica into his arms, carrying her over to her father and the paramedics.

She was loaded into the ambulance, along with Keith and Logan, Logan still praying that Veronica would live to see the birth of Lilly's baby.

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_A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Epilogue is coming up, and then it's all over! I loved writing this, and it'll be the first story I've ever actually finished! I hope the wait was worth it, and I apologize 1,000,000,000 times for how long it was._


	20. Epilogue

**Epilogue: **_**Ten Years Later**_

"Auntie Ronnie, Auntie Ronnie! You're back, you're back!" Sophie came running from inside the house, wrapping her arms around Veronica's waist immediately.

"That's right! And guess what I have!" Veronica replied, picking up her goddaughter and spinning her around.

"Presents!" Sophie yelled, removing herself from Veronica's grasp and running to the car.

"Hey, squirt!" Logan greeted, pulling Sophie into a bone-crushing hug.

"Lemme go, lemme go!" Sophie cried, her laughter filling the air. Logan obliged her, and Sophie raced back into the house, stopping at the doorway to turn and motion to Veronica to follow. Veronica held up a finger, and walked over to Logan.

"You can get to the presents okay? You know Sophie would throw a fit if she had to wait." Veronica nudged Logan, who was digging through one of their suitcases.

"By Sophie, you mean Lilly, right?" Logan joked, receiving a slap. He held up his hands in mock defense.

"I mean, really Veronica, it wasn't necessary to call you every night during our honeymoon, was it?" Logan reminded her, which Veronica nodded in agreement.

"I guess your right. You should know her lovely husband tried to stop her. As did her brother." Veronica informed him, and Logan rolled his eyes dramatically.

"As if Eli or Duncan have any control over Lilly." Logan stated, and Veronica was forced to agree again.

"Will you two please hurry? Sophie's about to have a heart attack if it takes you any longer!" Lilly called from the doorway. Veronica turned and gasped loudly at her friend.

"Lilly!" She squealed running to hug her. Logan rubbed his ear as he pulled out the gift bags, and followed his wife up to the doorsteps.

"You've gotten bigger!" Veronica called, rubbing her hand over Lilly's stomach. Lilly was 7 months pregnant, her first baby since Sophie.

"Yeah, well. This one's a kicker." Lilly informed her, smiling widely. Lilly was thrilled to be having a second baby. Sophie was a joy, but it hurt Lilly that she didn't know who Sophie's real father was. It was nice to be sure.

"Fascinating as this conversation is, can you move your giant stomach so I can enter?" Logan asked, his tone mocking. Lilly stuck her tongue out at Logan, who reached to grab it, forcing Lilly to step backwards, and she ran straight into her husband.

"Hi Eli! How are you?" Veronica asked, giving him a warm hug. Logan and Eli just nodded at each other, and Logan pushed his way past Lilly into the living room.

"Presents, presents, presents!" Sophie sang, dancing around Logan as he placed the bags on the coffee table.

"Slow down there, squirt. You're gonna crash before you can open them if you keep dancing around like that." Logan warned her, and Sophie jumped onto the seat next to him. He reached over and began tickling her, making her squeal and leap up to run over to Veronica.

"Is Uncle Logan being mean again?" Veronica asked as Sophie hid behind her legs.

"Yes!" Sophie exclaimed, latching onto to Veronica, making it nearly impossible for Veronica to walk. Eli came to the rescue, pulling Sophie from Veronica and tossing her onto the sofa. Sophie laughed, reaching over to kiss Eli on the cheek.

Sophie had Lilly's long blonde hair, and her skin was peachy in texture. The only clue to who her father was were her beautiful brown eyes. They matched Eli's to a tee. Lilly refused to do a paternity test though, saying it didn't matter, Eli was her father no matter what a stupid test said.

"Where's the freeloader?" Logan asked, looking to Lilly as she waddled into the room.

"Don't call him that. Sophie'll pick it up." Lilly chided, before seating herself next to Veronica. Sophie ran over and sat on Veronica's lap, and grabbed Logan's hand, holding the larger one in her tiny one.

"Spoken like a true mother." Veronica commented, and Lilly smiled warmly at her.

"Duncan went out to, quote, look for a job." Eli informed Logan, rolling his eyes. Duncan had dropped out of college his sophomore year, and moved in with Eli and Lilly. He constantly promised he'd start looking for a job and move out, but he'd stayed for 6 years, and Lilly and Eli had lost all hope he'd ever leave.

"Okay, present time!" Logan changed the subject at the look on Sophie's face. He handed her a small box, and she opened it excitedly.

"Look Mommy, look! It's a snow globe!" She cried out, clutching it to her tiny chest. Logan and Veronica smiled at each other, glad they'd found a gift perfect for their goddaughter.

"You go to Australia and all you get my kid is a snow globe? That is so like you, Logan." Lilly complained, as Sophie shot off to her room to put her snow glove up with the other ones.

"Here Lilly. Maybe you'll like your present better." Veronica handed Lilly a box, and Lilly's face lit up.

"Free babysitting? Excellent. We'll save this for when baby number two comes along." Eli stated, taking the card from his wife. She nodded. Logan sighed loudly, earning him another smack on the shoulder from Veronica.

"Oh, wow, this bracelet is gorgeous! I guess you're forgiven for the snow globe." Lilly mentioned, immediately holding her wrist out for Veronica to put it on. Veronica helped her, and Lilly held her wrist out for Eli to see, and he smiled at her.

"It's beautiful, sweetie." He said, not sure what else to say. Lilly smiled, apparently pleased with the answer.

"Where's my present?" Eli asked. Logan shook his head, pointing to the card.

"That's it, bud." Logan informed him, and Eli pretended to be disappointed for a second.

"Okay, before we go eat, I have an announcement!" Veronica cried out, as everyone started to leave to go to dinner.

"Don't tell me Trina got out of the nuthouse." Lilly groaned. Trina had been in a mental hospital for the past ten years. She'd gotten no jail time, pleading insanity, but the court had forced her into treatment. She didn't seem to be getting anywhere.

"You know perfectly well Trina will be there for another 30 years, Lilly." Logan reminded her. His face had paled slightly. He still got upset whenever anyone mentioned his sister, and he looked to Veronica neck, where a pale pink scar still remained over her neck.

"It's happy news! I'm pregnant!" Veronica spilled, and Lilly squealed in excitement.

"Ouch, Lilly! Logan and I would like to be able to hear!" Eli complained, earning him a dirty look from his wife.

"When are you due? I hope I have a boy and you have a girl, than they can get married!"

"I would never let my daughter marry your son, Lilly." Logan stated firmly. Lilly shot him a look, along with Veronica.

"The baby's due in January." Veronica told Lilly, answering her earlier question.

"Oh, that's wonderful!" Lilly said, hugging Veronica.

"Well, on that note, get Sophie and we'll head to dinner." Veronica commanded, and Eli stood up to collect his daughter.

"Things have worked out perfectly, haven't they." Logan said, placing his arm in Veronica's.

"They sure have." Veronica replied, walking out the front door with her husband, their child growing in her stomach.

_**THE END!**_

_A/N: I hope you've enjoyed the story!_


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